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Interim statement: Globally diversified miner Anglo American saw profits drop almost 40% in the first half of the year as faltering global economic growth impacted on the prices of key commodities. In a statement, the group said that it was prioritising its capital investment to commodities with the most attractive market dynamics and lowest execution risks, due to a deterioration in the global economic outlook. However, the miner remained positive about the long-term outlook for commodities. Underlying profits dropped to $1.69 billion from $3.12 billion a year earlier, missing analyst estimates. Group revenue, including contributions from associate companies, fell by one-tenth to $16.4 billion from $18.2 billion in the first half of 2011.

Anglo American is a diversified global mining company. The company's portfolio of mining assets and natural resources includes platinum group metals and diamonds, with interests in copper, iron ore, metallurgical coal, nickel and thermal coal, as well as a series of share stakes in other mining and industrial businesses. It operates in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia. Anglo Platinum, a managed subsidiary, owns platinum reserves.

Positive Points: Trading for the current full year remains in line with management expectations. The board remains confident regarding the delivery its 2010-15 regulatory outperformance targets. The company intends to continue with its dividend policy of targeting an annual growth rate of 2% above RPI inflation through to at least 2015. As of its full year results may in May (2012) a 6.7% increase in the total dividend over the course of the full year compared to prior year was announced. Management highlighted that its revised customer handling arrangements had led to a marked improvement in customer satisfaction, resulting in significant progress on Ofwat's service incentive mechanism - United moved from 21st to 16th in the company league table. United met its regulatory leakage target for the sixth consecutive year. July 2012 government draft proposals also included relaxing restrictions on mergers and acquisitions in the industry. As of the last full year results, customer bad debts as a proportion of regulated revenue improved from 2.5% in 2009/10 to 2.1% in 2010/11. Following agreement in November 2011 for a £200 million index-linked term loan facility with the European Investment Bank, to support delivery of the capital investment programme, management noted that it "had headroom to cover its projected financing needs into 2014." Group gearing at 59% as of 31 March 2012 remained within Ofwat's assumed range (55% to 65% net debt to regulatory capital value). United Utilities Water PLC (UUW) has a long-term credit rating of A3 from Moody's Investors Service with a stable outlook. The group's business remains highly defensive when set against a backdrop of a challenging economic environment.

Negative Points: Revenues rose by less than allowed under regulation, principally reflecting the ongoing impact of customers switching to meters and continued lower commercial volumes. July 2012 government draft proposals include making it easier for business customers to choose their water suppliers and for new entrants to join the water market. As expected, group net debt is currently slightly higher, compared with the position at 31 March 2012, reflecting continued high levels of capital investment and an accelerated staff pension payment. Under Ofwat's service incentive mechanism (SIM) in 2011/12, United ranked 16th out of 21 companies. Management noted "we recognise that we have more to do". United Utilities operates in a highly regulated environment and is dependent on its ability to meet tough regulatory efficiency targets and frequent reviews.

Financial Highlights: The group expects to deliver a good underlying financial performance for 2012/13. Management is confident of delivering its 2010-15 regulatory outperformance targets. The board intends to continue with its dividend policy of targeting an annual growth rate of 2% above RPI inflation through to at least 2015.

First quarter update: Management noted that "current trading is in line with the group's expectations of delivering a good underlying financial performance for 2012/13." Group revenue increased, reflecting the regulated price increase for 2012/13. However, as expected, this increase was slightly below the allowed regulated price rise, principally reflecting the ongoing impact of customers switching to meters and continued lower commercial volumes. Regulatory capital investment had continued at high levels and is expected to be around £700 million (including infrastructure renewals expenditure) during the current financial year 2012/13. Improving operational performance and customer service remain top management priorities, with the business meeting its regulatory leakage target for the sixth consecutive year in the financial year just gone. In all, given the defensive nature of its business and the attractive dividend yield in a low interest rate environment,

Company overview Headquartered in Warrington with 9,000 employees, United Utilities was created via the merger of North West Water and Norweb Electricity in 1995. The group holds a licence to provide water and sewage services to a population of around seven million people in North West England. United Utilities Plc is an international multi-utility business whose activities include water supply and distribution, waste water services, and utility contracting solutions. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and it is a member of the FTSE 100 Index.

Positive Points: Pearson said its digital services were strong, with registration to its Education digital platform rising 30%. Penguin ebook revenues grew 33% and digital subscription at the Financial Times rose 31% and now exceed print circulation. Trading is currently in line with prior expectations, with progress for the full year 2012 expected. Pearson enjoys strong global market positions. It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world. Pearson has over recent years made acquisitions in Brazil, China, South Africa, Nigeria and India. The board has previously highlighted that it was “benefiting from recent portfolio changes, using the proceeds from disposals to invest in fast-growing businesses in developing economies and digital services." The group's dividend policy remains progressive.

Negative Points: Pearson had warned in April that its adjusted operating profit would be down in the first half of 2012, due to seasonal effects, as it gets the bulk of its revenue in the second half of the year. Sales at Penguin dropped 4%, with profits falling 48% to £22 million, which management said was caused by lower sales in its more profitable U.S. market. Uncertainty over potential national and local government spending cuts in the US continues to cast a shadow over the group's Education business. The weak state of the physical retail book market is a risk to the publishing industry. The outlook for advertising markets, (for the Financial Times) remains subject to macro-economic conditions. Currency volatility can work both for and against the company. With the group generating approximately 60% of its sales in the US, the movement between the pound and the dollar remains significant.

Financial Highlights: Interim pre-tax profits fell 38% to £59 million. The group reported a rise in revenues in the six months to 30 June from £2.4 billion to £2.6 billion. The board recommended raising the interim dividend by 7% to 15p a share.

Half Year Results: Despite a difficult trading environment in the first half, Pearson reiterated that it was on course to meet its targets for full year sales and operating profits. Interim pre-tax profits fell 38% to £59 million, which Pearson attributed to the loss of profits from the December sale of its 50% stake in FTSE International, as well as the cyclical nature of Penguin's publishing schedule, and increased investment back into the business. The publishing group reported a 7% increase in first-half revenues from £2.4 billion to £2.6 billion, on the back of a strong performance from its education division.

Pearson is one of the world's major publishing groups, with a series of publishing brands (Penguin, Dorling Kindersley, the Financial Times, Prentice Hall, Scott Foresman, Longman and many others). The conglomerate is focused tightly on three core businesses: 1) Education 2) The Financial Times Group 3) Penguin Consumer Books. The group operates from 60 countries and has over 30,000 employees.

Amid less than ideal IVA conditions, Fairpoint has done well to reduce its reliance on that business and to cut costs. While the IVA operation looks well placed for growth once interest rates begin rising again. Adjust for last year's one-off charges and broker Shore Capital expects earnings to rise over 80 per cent in 2012 to 12.8p. The shares are still rated on a mere five times that earnings forecast and trade below the group's reported net asset value. Add that to a hefty prospective dividend yield of nearly 8 per cent, and the fast-diminishing debt pile, and such a rating is too low..........good luck all.....

Fairpoint also offers debt management plans (DMP) – for people who can make repayments in some form, but need flexibility on the repayment schedule and the interest that accrues on the borrowings. Revenue here grew by a robust 29 per cent last year, to £5.3m, and the division has also received a boost after Fairpoint made four DMP back book acquisitions, taking the total number of schemes under management up to 15,838. Tight cost control has helped the group to bring down borrowings rapidly – they've fallen from £6.4m at end-December to £1.6m last month. And that's before the receipt of proceeds from a successful effort to reclaim VAT – management reckons that could be worth around £4.5m. Moreover, the group's £8m debt facility with Royal Bank of Scotland, originally due to expire in December, has now been increased to £13m and extended to 2016.

In fact, Fairpoint's attempts to diversify away from IVAs is progressing well and, last year, income from the financial services arm more than doubled to £2.4m. Much of the improvement came from commencing a programme of payment protection insurance reclaim activity with the existing IVA customer base. The financial services business also includes a venture into pay-day lending under the group's Loanextra banner – a potentially promising source of growth. Although the weaker credit profiles of borrowers in this market makes this a risky area for newcomers and any credit control glitches could mean bad news for bad debts. Fairpoint's background in the IVA sector, however, should help it avoid such pitfalls.

Recessionary conditions usually mean good news for Fairpoint because its core business involves the provision of debt management solutions for people that can't repay borrowers. Admittedly, today's very low interest rates, and a more accommodative stance by creditors, has meant that the usual increase in distressed borrowers associated with an economic downturn hasn't yet materialised. But investors should be patient – while management reckons that interest rates are unlikely to rise before 2104, when they do start rising, the resulting squeeze should see more consumers seeking financial help. Fairpoint has also been successfully adjusting to current conditions by cutting costs – annualised savings of £1m were made in 2011 – and through diversifying its revenue stream. Revenue generated from activities unconnected to individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) rose from 17 per cent of group revenue in 2010 to 30 per cent last year. That's just as well – new IVAs written last year fell by 30 per cent to 5,840, and fees per customer dropped a little to £2,083.

These problems go some way towards explaining the discount at which Big Yellow's shares trade. Yet they will probably turn out to be less fearsome than anticipated in a sector cushioned by decent growth potential.

This prospect has prompted a change of strategy. The company already has planning permission to build self-storage warehouses on three sites. But chief executive James Gibson announced with May's annual results that he was putting the store expansion programme on hold after the Chiswick site opened. He wants to use the spare cash flow - after paying decent and rising dividends - to reduce net debt to £245m-£260m by 2014-15 (from £283m at present), thereby containing debt costs at about a quarter of pre-interest cash flows, even as the interest rate rises. Meanwhile, the company will try to grow by filling up its existing stores, rather than building new ones on the pre-recession trajectory. The second issue is that customers will probably start having to pay VAT. Self-storage is currently exempt from sales tax, just as commercial property rents are. But chancellor George Osborne announced he was changing the rule in this year's Budget, subject to a consultation process now under way. It won't affect Big Yellow's business customers, who occupy 35 per cent of store space, as they can reclaim VAT. Moreover, Big Yellow will be able to reclaim about £18m of tax paid on capital expenditure if the measure is introduced, which will help offset any negative impact on its profits. But the extra 20 per cent on the cost of providing self-storage services will still squeeze margins and boost prices, dampening demand from customers.

Growth potential usually comes at a price on the stock market. But Big Yellow's shares are hardly expensive. True, they trade on about 15 times expected earnings for the current year, which is above average. But those earnings are backed by a property portfolio worth 380p a share, net of debt - 29 per cent more than the share price. In the crudest terms, that means the company could be broken up and generate a 29 per cent profit - perhaps the most basic indicator of value investors know. This is a simplistic metric in Big Yellow's case because the value of its estate is more theoretical than that of other property companies - the UK self-storage sector is too immature to have a liquid market of prime properties that surveyors can use as evidence for valuations. But it does suggest the company's shares are undervalued in the long term. There are two wrinkles in the growth outlook, though. First, it has to refinance a £225m debt package this year in the toughest financing environment in living memory. Having obtained a 15-year, £100m loan from Aviva at a fixed rate of 4.9 per cent in April, the company shouldn't struggle to find a lender. But its cost of debt - currently very low at 3.7 per cent - will probably rise, eroding profits.

The UK's economy is about 4 per cent smaller than it was at its 2008 peak, but Big Yellow's underlying pre-tax profit has risen 58 per cent over that time. This can be explained largely by industry and geography: it lets storage units in big purpose-built sheds to consumers and businesses - a young sector now gaining traction - and it operates mainly in London, which is growing at the expense of other regions. With neither trend showing any sign of changing, it seems safe to assume Big Yellow will continue to grow faster than the wider economy. The company's operational performance this year has demonstrated its potential. Even as the UK slipped back into recession, Big Yellow increased both occupancy and storage rates. Rents increased 1.9 per cent over the quarter to the end of June, while like-for-like occupancy rose from 63.5 per cent to 67 per cent. Finding very visible sites - such as on the A4 in Chiswick, where it opened its newest store in April - and plastering them with its big yellow branding, may be one reason for the company's success. Another is its investment in online marketing - more than four-fifths of its customers come from the website. Marketing is all-important because self-storage is under-used in the UK, relative to Australia and the US, even though Britons live in smaller homes. There's only about half a square foot of self-storage space for every UK citizen, compared with 1.1 square foot in Australia and 7.4 square feet in the US.