Most people are focused on the big political issues of today — climate change, COVID-19, poverty — but it’s not one of these big issues that has one American confronting his local council.

This guy is more concerned about people loosely throwing around the term “boneless chicken wings”.

You read right. One guy wants the term “boneless chicken wings” to be banned, because “nothing about boneless chicken wings actually come from the wing of a chicken”.

 

Now, here’s what you might have missed on Stockhead this week, but everyone else didn’t, and liked the most.

 

1. BNPL leaders Afterpay, Zip sink as PayPal circles

The red-hot buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector got a bit of a shake-up this week after payments giant PayPal said it was getting in on the action.

One analyst summed it up perfectly: “It’s an ugly day, because there’s a lot of fear in the market at the moment. You can just imagine being a fly on the wall in the Afterpay boardroom right now.”

Could this spell the end of Afterpay’s (ASX:APT) dominating run in the Australian BNPL scene?

Derek Rose drilled down into what it could mean for Aussie BNPL competitors.

 

2. REZ uncovers 10 major gold systems at East Menzies, fast-tracks deeper drilling

WA explorer Resources and Energy Group (ASX:REZ) has unearthed a major – and previously unrecognised – gold-rich zone along the east side of the historic East Menzies gold project.

In the 1890s, Menzies was one of the biggest and highest-grade gold producers in WA’s Eastern Goldfields, from hundreds of shallow workings.

But for the last 20 years this hugely prospective ground essentially lay dormant, until REZ was able to consolidate +112sqkm of strike along this gold-rich part of the Norseman – Wiluna greenstone belt.

Reuben Adams runs through REZ’s plan for this prospective patch of ground.

 

3. Guy on Rocks: The junior copper play that could have the next DeGrussa

It’s been about gold for so long, but now copper is poking its head up.

Guy Le Page’s latest pick is a junior explorer that has marked out its territory not far from Sandfire Resources’ (ASX:SFR) producing 1.5-million-tonne-per-annum DeGrussa gold-copper mine in the Bryah Basin region of Western Australia.

That discovery propelled Sandfire from a 4c penny stock into a ~$1bn mining company.

So you can imagine the potential for this little penny stock if it uncovers the next DeGrussa. Find out what fascinates Le Page about this little known copper explorer.

 

4. Gold Digger: Quality small cap stories are still being rewarded by investors

The gold price may have come off the boil a bit, but investors are still looking for a bargain with a good story.

Junior explorer Six Sigma Metals (ASX:SI6) hit it out of the park with news it plans to buy a gold project next door to Dacian Gold’s (ASX:DCN) 2.1-million-ounce Mt Morgan operation in WA.

Mithril Resources (ASX:MTH) also witnessed some share price appreciation after hitting high-grade gold and silver in the first two holes of maiden drilling at the Copalquin project in Mexico.

Read on to see who else made it into the winner’s column.

 

5. The driving forces behind Australia’s red-hot IPO market

Anyone would think a pandemic would mean a mass exodus from markets, but in fact it’s been completely the opposite.

With Australia’s capital markets still highly liquid in the wake of COVID-19, investors are on the lookout for more good opportunities in the IPO pipeline.

Sam Jacobs spoke to three fund managers this week to find out what they are seeing and what they look for in a good IPO.

Check it out if you missed it.

 

6. The lithium tide is turning and these juniors are preparing to ride the wave

The lithium space has not been a particularly enjoyable one in recent times, with an oversupply in 2019 compounded by a fall in demand thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic this year.

Lithium producers have scaled back production in response. But there are signs that the tide might be turning.

Bevis Yeo runs through the drivers that are making the outlook for lithium more positive.

 

7. Apple, Tesla share splits could handsomely reward investors

Nothing like the potential promise of further gains for already massively priced US stocks like Apple and Tesla to get people to sit up and take notice.

Looking at their share prices, it is easy to understand the reasoning for a share split.

Apple’s share price was trading at $US500 ($685) last week before its share split, while Tesla’s share price hit $US2,238 a share – coming from just $US430 a share on January 2.

But despite the share split (which decreases the share price but gives investors more shares to make up the value) Apple and Tesla could still rally even more, according to trading platform eToro.

Mike Cooper has the details.

 

8. The RBA is on deck today with a key announcement — here’s what you need to know

Everyone is on tenterhooks every time the RBA makes an announcement. It’s probably no surprise we have now been told (officially) Australia is in a recession.

But Westpac reckons RBA’s policy stance is likely to ease further in the years ahead.

And it’s imbalances in asset prices, rather than inflation, that will act as a catalyst to put the brakes on easy monetary policy.

Sam Jacobs outlines Westpac chief economist Bill Evans thoughts on the matter.

 

9. Bursting the breakeven barrier — 4 ASX small caps discuss their path to profitability

While cashflow is king for small-cap investors, it’s important to understand which part of a business the cash is being generated from.

The key question is: are they generating net-positive operating cashflows — making money from their core operations (as distinct from investing and financing cash flows).

So, just how do companies prioritise cashflow break-even?

To get the inside view, Sam Jacobs spoke to four ASX small caps operating across the fintech, medtech, agriculture and insurance sectors.

 

10. The Secret Broker: We now know what we don’t know, and what we don’t know, we now know

SB gives us the rundown on what Bevan Slattery — one of this year’s rich listers — says is “simply the most exciting technology to ever come out of Australia”.

 

Have a good weekend!