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http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207020700085779G

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About Amiad Amiad Water Systems (AIM: AFS) is a leading global producer of automatic, self-cleaning water treatment and filtration products and systems. Through its engineering skills and ability to innovate, Amiad provides cost-effective "green" solutions for the industrial, municipal, irrigation, oil & gas and ballast water markets. In these segments its patented products are being integrated into the core of systems for filtration and water treatment, micro irrigation and membrane protection, wastewater and potable water treatment, cooling systems and sea water filtration. Headquartered in Israel, Amiad provides these solutions through nine subsidiaries and a comprehensive network of 170 distributors to customers in more than 80 countries. For additional information or product details, please visit www.amiad.com About Mekorot Mekorot - Israel's National Water Company - has been providing solutions and regular, reliable, high-quality water to Israel's water industry for 75 years. Its water supply system comprises 3,000 facilities throughout the country, integrates most of the regional water plants and combines water from various sources: the Sea of Galilee, Mountain Aquifers and Coastal Aquifers, as well as drillings and desalinated sea and brackish water. Mekorot is a unique company worldwide due to its variety of operations: water supply to all sectors, to the Palestinian Authority and the Jordanian Kingdom; production and integration of water from multiple sources in the national system; water security; constant water quality improvement - the Central Filtration Plant - the fourth largest in the world - positions Israel at the forefront of water treatment in the western world; wastewater treatment and water reclamation of about 60% of Israel's treated wastewater; desalination of brackish and sea water through 32 facilities; storm water catchment; and rain enhancement.

About Amiad Amiad Water Systems (AIM: AFS) is a leading global producer of automatic, self-cleaning water treatment and filtration products and systems. Through its engineering skills and ability to innovate, Amiad provides cost-effective "green" solutions for the industrial, municipal, irrigation, oil & gas and ballast water markets. In these segments its patented products are being integrated into the core of systems for filtration and water treatment, micro irrigation and membrane protection, wastewater and potable water treatment, cooling systems and sea water filtration. Headquartered in Israel, Amiad provides these solutions through nine subsidiaries and a comprehensive network of 170 distributors to customers in more than 80 countries. For additional information or product details, please visit www.amiad.com About Mekorot Mekorot - Israel's National Water Company - has been providing solutions and regular, reliable, high-quality water to Israel's water industry for 75 years. Its water supply system comprises 3,000 facilities throughout the country, integrates most of the regional water plants and combines water from various sources: the Sea of Galilee, Mountain Aquifers and Coastal Aquifers, as well as drillings and desalinated sea and brackish water. Mekorot is a unique company worldwide due to its variety of operations: water supply to all sectors, to the Palestinian Authority and the Jordanian Kingdom; production and integration of water from multiple sources in the national system; water security; constant water quality improvement - the Central Filtration Plant - the fourth largest in the world - positions Israel at the forefront of water treatment in the western world; wastewater treatment and water reclamation of about 60% of Israel's treated wastewater; desalination of brackish and sea water through 32 facilities; storm water catchment; and rain enhancement.

Shimon Ben Hamo, Mekorot's CEO, commented: "For 75 years, 'Mekorot', Israel's National Water Company, has been developing Israel's water economy and integrating advanced technologies for seawater and brackish water desalination in its activities. The desalination facility in Ashdod is an additional link in the long chain of accomplishments in providing high-quality water with the utmost reliability at all times and under all conditions. The integration of filtration systems at the facility coincides with the company's policy of technological development." Amiad will provide a solution comprising of its polymer-based Arkal Super Galaxy automatic self-cleaning disc filters. The system will have a filtration degree of 100 micron and will be required to withstand a flow rate of 40,000 cubic metres per hour. Amiad will begin supplying the units from October 2012, with installation due to occur in March 2013. Arik Dayan, CEO of Amiad, said: "We are very proud that Amiad has been chosen to participate in this significant project in Israel. It provides further evidence of our industry-leading position as well as the strength of our enlarged offering, which now includes UF membrane protection for desalination. We look forward to working with IVM Minrav Sadyt and Mekorot in bringing this important development to fruition."

Amiad wins $1.67 million contract for significant Israeli desalination project Ultra-filtration membrane protection to Mekorot's Ashdod Desalination Plant Amiad, a leading global producer of water treatment and filtration solutions, is pleased to announce that it has signed a contract, valued at $1.67m, to provide an Arkal Super Galaxy automatic disc filtration system (SpinKlin R) for the protection of ultra-filtration ("UF") membranes at the Mekorot Group's Ashdod Desalination Plant (the "Plant"), which will be one of the largest such facilities in Israel. The contract was awarded by IVM Minrav Sadyt: a consortium including Minrav Holdings Ltd, an Israeli infrastructure company, and SADYT, a Spanish construction business. Mekorot Development Enterprise Ltd, a subsidiary of Mekorot, Israel's national water company, will plan, build and operate the Plant. The Ashdod Desalination Plant, which is due to commence operation in early 2013, will produce 100 million cubic metres of water per year, accounting for approximately 15% of Israeli domestic water consumption. It will be the fourth reverse osmosis desalination plant to be built along Israel's Mediterranean coast, which, in addition to a further plant due to become operational in 2013, will have a combined annual output of 540 million cubic metres of water. Mekorot is also constructing a new National Water Carrier of Israel, which will receive water from all of the desalination plants. This will enhance the existing system, which delivers water from the Sea of Galilee in the north of the country to the highly populated centre and arid south, by enabling water to be transported in all directions, which will improve the efficiency of Israel's water use and regulation of supply.

Nick Clarke, Chief Executive Officer commented: "The commissioning phase of the SX-EW plant is progressing well and several areas of the plant have been operating to 100% of their design capacity. We continue to record higher than expected levels of copper in solution from the leaching process on the dumps albeit this is expected to stabilise over time. I am personally delighted with the initial performance of both the leaching process and the SX-EW plant and am confident we will achieve our 2012 production target of 5,000 tonnes. We have been developing our relationship with Traxys Europe SA and I am pleased that we have sold and delivered 80% of our first two months' production."

Central Asia Metals plc (AIM:CAML), is pleased to announce its maiden production update from its recently constructed SX-EW copper plant at Kounrad, Kazakhstan. The plant, which was constructed at a capital cost of $40 million, some 15% below budget, commenced production on 29 April 2012. As at 30 June 2012, a total of 1,728 tonnes of cathode copper had been produced of which 1,386 tonnes had been sold and delivered to Traxys Europe SA. To date physical production of copper cathodes has exceeded management's expectations for this early stage of production as the plant is still under commissioning. The plant is operating in accordance with the design capacity specifications and the assessed quality of the cathode copper has consistently met LME grade A quality standards.

Nandan Cleantec plc ("Nandan" or the "Company"), a scaled vertically integrated biofuel producer, is pleased to announce an update on progress made regarding its corporate structure. As set out at the time of the IPO, and as reiterated at the time of the Company's Interim Results in March of this year, Nandan has committed to taking the necessary steps to simplify its capital structure. At the time of its IPO, Nandan initially owned 51 per cent. of Nandan Cleantec Limited ("NCL") and Xtraa Cleancities Limited ("XCC"), its two Indian operating subsidiaries. In line with the structure plan set out in the Nandan Admission Document, the Company is taking steps to acquire the remaining 49 per cent. stake of both Nandan Cleantec Limited and Xtraa Cleancities Limited, India from existing shareholders. The Company is pleased to confirm that phase one of this restructuring has now been completed. As of 30 June 2012, Nandan owns 80.04 per cent. of NCL and 100.0 per cent. of XCC. Nandan will now continue to work towards acquiring the remaining minorities in NCL so that, in due course, Nandan will own 100 per cent. of both operating subsidiaries

Because of the speed of Brammer's recent 35 per cent share price decline, analysts at broker Espirito Santo have upgraded their recommendation from 'sell' to 'neutral' but think investors should wait for the price to hit 235p before buying. Meanwhile, broker Peel Hunt thinks a price target of 390p is fair given Brammer's ability to defend its profit margins. A way to gear up returns would be with a spread bet. Assuming a buying price of 253p, a long position at £25 a 'point' (1p price change) would generate profits of £2,050 before costs if the share price rallied to 335p. Setting a stop-loss at 230p would mean losses of £575. Any gain on a spread bet would be tax-free, although losses cannot be offset against gains elsewhere. A contract for difference could be opened at similar levels and deliver similar returns, but any profits on these would be subject to capital gains tax.

However, trading is a tricky game, so it would be sensible to set a stop-loss at 230p. All bets would be off if the European situation worsens and Investors Chronicle's technical specialist, Dominic Picarda, says that, if Brammer's price dropped below 230p, there wouldn't be much to stop it plunging to 2009's lows of 70p. Despite the most recent indicators of business confidence in the eurozone pointing towards the worst quarter in three years, Brammer has been fairly resilient. It says that underlying sales growth in the first four months of the year was 10 per cent; adding in the first-time contribution of its recent acquisition, Buck & Hickman, boosts the growth rate to 29 per cent. The distributor also says that sales to its "key accounts" were up 16 per cent after adjusting for exchange rate fluctuations, and comprised over a third of turnover.

Shares in industrial parts distributor Brammer could give investors a 50 per cent return with a quick-fire trade over the coming months. The investment case is simple: because of Brammer's focus on maintenance in the European industrials market, the shares have been oversold and represent one of the best ways to play a stock market rally if Europe's leaders agree to supply cheap credit in huge quantities. The parameters for the trade are based on technical analysis and are straightforward. Twice in the past 12 months, Brammer's share price has bounced off a level around 235p. So getting in at the current price is a decent starting point. If Europe gets further cheap credit and markets rally, the immediate price target would be last July's high of 335p. If the price hits that, it could spike as high as this April's 383p. So selling within that range would offer profits of somewhere between 32 per cent and 51 per cent.

Unibail's bosses are betting the group can retain its investment-grade credit rating while expanding in a downturn, when acquisitions and contractors are cheaper. Given its track record of market timing, that looks feasible. It also helps that Unibail has an excellent record of pre-letting its developments. It serves as a kind of one-stop shop for US (and occasionally UK) brands that want to launch a retail platform on the European continent. Marks & Spencer has chosen two Unibail developments for its push into France, for example. The substantial risk of investing in Unibail - aside from practical considerations such as exchange rates and witholding tax on dividends - is the effect of the eurozone crisis. Most obviously, this undermines retail sales, which drive Unibail's business. Shopping centres in fragile Spain pay about 10 per cent of the group's net rental income. As a highly-liquid play on the eurozone economy, Unibail is also an obvious target for traders who want to short 'Europe'. Yet there are good reasons to be sanguine. Unibail's exposure is very broad and, with the exception of Spain, is focused on the better-performing countries of northern and eastern Europe. It also seems to be able to extract growth from the most unpromising situations by constantly changing tenants and upgrading its centres. Growth in like-for-like net rental income has risen throughout the downturn - it fell to 0.8 per cent in 2010 but bounced back to 4.6 per cent last year. Unibail may even benefit from turbulence because the value of economically-resilient assets such as it owns could go up.

The group was formed when Paris-based Unibail took over Dutch retail landlord Rodamco in 2007. Crucially, this so-called 'merger of equals' involved raising no new debt, setting it apart from most big deals of the same vintage. Moreover, the combined group immediately embarked on a plan to sell smaller shopping centres and reduce a debt load that was already low by UK standards. That put the group in a strong position when the European correction came in 2008. Even at the trough of the cycle, at the end of 2009, Unibail's loan-to-value ratio was only about 30 per cent. The UK reits destroyed their track records by tapping shareholders for cash in 2009; Unibail paid out €1.8bn in special dividends in 2010. The group's debt load is now increasing again. The loan-to-value - 37 per cent at the end of 2011 - will soon be higher because Unibail announced a major acquisition in Germany this month. Moreover, it has substantial development plans, with €1.7bn of capital expenditure alone pledged to projects already under construction.

London is Europe's most exciting property market, if you believe Mayfair's estate agents. But by far the top-performing real estate investment trust (Reit) in Europe is Unibail-Rodamco, a $13bn (£10.4bn) French company with no assets in Britain. With dividends reinvested, the return on its shares has beaten Land Securities - Britain's largest Reit - by about eight times since the turn of the millennium. The reasons for this include one big structural advantage that should ensure ongoing outperformance: Unibail is more profitable than any of the big UK Reits, and therefore pays bigger dividends. That's largely because it can borrow more cheaply - with direct access to the bond markets, the group paid just 3.6 per cent on its €9.7bn debt pile last year. Lower administration costs - the topical one being executive pay - have also helped ensure that as much rental income as possible flows through to shareholders. Another reason Unibail has outperformed its UK peers is superior market timing. True, this may be the result of luck as much as of skill, but analysts agree that Unibail's bosses, who are all graduates of the same elite business school, are unusually clever and competent.

True, a turnaround is possible if Astra's remaining free cash is spent wisely; the successful resurrection of Bristol Myers Squibb is often cited as an example. However, that requires time and a determined management team to shake up an awkward corporate structure complicated by entrenched interests in the UK and Sweden......But as always dyor gl......

Management has been able to sustain the inflation-busting dividend by finding some $2bn in cost savings over the past five years. That has kept profit margins high and dividends flowing, but the group may be reaching the limits of this plan. The first signs of this came in 2011's results when management had to book a $2.1bn (£1.3bn) restructuring charge, to generate $1.6bn of annual savings by 2014. In other, words the yield from cost-cutting is starting to fall as the easier cuts have already been made. Added to that is a seriously mis-firing development pipeline, with the failure of a host of late-stage products leaving the group without an effective oncology portfolio. When these factors are taken together, the possibility of a revenue gap opening up within two years increases markedly.

but City analysts reckon the break-up value of the group is only about £26 per share, well short of the current share price. The problem is that most of Astra's value is tied up in the revenues generated by its leading drugs and this is set to fall as patent expiries come nearer. So taking a punt on a break-up would be a highly risky investment plan

The root of AstraZeneca's problems is its persistent efforts over the past five years to maintain its status as a research-based pharmaceuticals company. This wasn't an unreasonable goal - given success, this business model would deliver better financial returns than those produced by diversified pharma companies. The problem is that Astra has made little progress. It attempted acquisitions that fell through, consummated deals that were too small to offset the loss of revenues as patents on drugs expired and witnessed the slow erosion of its research and development pipeline. This approach is no longer viable, which is why the company is looking to hire a new boss after parting ways with chief executive David Brennan. By now, however, the problem is not so much a lack of options, as a lack of time left to make restructuring plans plans work. For example, nearly one-third of group sales are tied up in just two blockbusters, ulcer treatment Nexium and heart drug Crestor, and these two will lose their patent protection in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Time, then, is of the essence, especially as Astra has to change its spots years after, for example, GlaxoSmithKline or Bristol Myers Squibb, went through the same exercise. Nor is there break-up value in Astra's shares. For starters, the group's book value is about £11.50 a share