What are the odds that a full moon would occur on Friday the 13th?

Very low, apparently. It’s happened only once before – on October 13, 2000 — and it is happening again tonight. Spooky.

Or maybe not…

Farmers actually believe it is good luck.

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

 

1. The onward march of 5G: will small caps benefit?

Our top read yarn this week was all about the future of mobile phone networks in Australia.

There has been mild fanfare and a few debacles surrounding 5G in Australia already, like the time the Feds banned infamous Chinese telco Huawei. And then there was the ACCC’s big ‘thumbs down’ to the merger between Vodafone and TPG Telecom (ASX:TPM).

What is actually going on with our 5G rollout? How will small caps benefit?

We have the answers for you right here.

 

2. Space is getting crowded: 20,000 satellites will be launched in the next 10 years

Star Wars is a fave for sure, but definitely not so futuristic anymore.

We have unfortunately entered an era where we must manage all the shit we send into space.

Over 8,000 satellites have been launched into Earth’s orbit since the space race began and another 20,000 are due in the next decade.

Things are getting a bit crowded up there!

And experts have their ideas on how to avoid them crashing into each other – because apparently satellites don’t do last minute manoeuvres.

Get schooled on how to stop satellite collisions.

 

3. Cirralto signs deal with Clark Rubber to deploy its pool-management software nationwide

Our lead pic — a dog floating in a pool wearing sunnies  — caught your attention this week, but the story has nothing to do with dogs wearing sunnies. Sorry. It is related to pools, though.

Cloud-based IT systems provider Cirralto (ASX:CRO) has snagged a national retail customer for its Poolbox data management software.

The company announced a three-year software licensing deal this morning with Clark Rubber, which has 60 franchisee stores nationwide.

Check out how the pair will do business.

 

4. Stars & Swipes: The most popular US stocks and ETFs among Australian investors

Stars & Swipes is a hit, again. Seems like our readers love finding out which stocks are hot – even if they aren’t Aussie stocks.

And it helps that we have a new way of being able to trade US stocks. Stake’s app-based trading platform provides a vehicle for local investors to buy and sell US stocks and ETF products.

People are even calling it the “Commsec for US shares, but cheaper” – because it doesn’t charge trading fees.

 

5. The graphite party looks to be over (for now) — here’s what analysts prefer instead

Midway down our list this week is a really good yarn about graphite.

This battery metal is a little on the nose (for now), so we got one of our experts to tell us what might be better to look at while graphite has a little siesta.

Fear not though, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, with predictions of a shortage of supply coming in the next few years.

In the meantime, check out what might make a better investment right now.

 

6. Millennials are set to come into a LOT of money… but which stocks will benefit from their newfound wealth?

This one is just off the charts – millennials are apparently inheriting $30 trillion dollars from their “Baby Boomer” relatives over the next 30-odd years.

And these guys won’t be spending it the same way their parents or grandparents did.

Pretty much anything to do with tech will be a recipient of this newfound wealth, but it does have to be impressive and solve a problem or these millennials will turn their nose up at it.

And when it comes to travel, they want to live like the locals, so it has to be the real deal.

Read all about it.

 

7. ‘Cheapest in the industry’: SelfWealth launches trading platform for advisers

There must be a few financial advisers among you because this story about a new trading platform (obviously specifically for financial advisers) took out seventh spot.

SelfWealth only charges like $9.50 per trade, which I guess is a win for both brokers and investors.

The less you have to pay, the better right?

 

8. The Explorers: Force’s Jason Brewer on that 2400g/t silver hit at Tshimapala

This one needs no explanation, just that it’s about silver – and a whopping great grade at that.

It was only a matter of time before the silver price started to go on a run, because historically, silver tends to track the gold price up and down, eventually.

And when a junior explorer reports grades of 2411g/t silver and 60 per cent lead from a grab sample at one of its projects… well investors tend to sit up and take notice.

So silver is now joining gold as one to watch. Read all about Force Commodities’ (ASX:4CE) high-grade find and what it’s like to work in Malawi.

 

9. Gold: Newcrest reignites Paterson Province with mammoth gold-copper intersection at Havieron

So many reasons why this is a top read: gold, Newcrest and the Paterson Province pretty much sums it up.

When a major miner reports some nice hits in a new exploration hot spot, investors notice.

Nearology is definitely an attention grabber and small caps will do anything they can to alert investors to the fact they have ground in the same area.

Newcrest says the massive system at its Havieron project, operated under a farm in agreement with UK-based Greatland Gold, remains open. Great news for the junior explorers in the area.

 

10. These explorers are right next door to Alkane’s massive copper-gold discovery

Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnd still more nearology….

Alkane (ASX:ALK) just discovered something very, very big at its Northern Molong porphyry project, in the same neighbourhood as Newcrest’s mammoth 50moz Cadia operations in NSW.

Alkane unveiled this incredible hit at the Boda prospect — 502m at 0.48 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 0.2 per cent copper, 211m from surface.

It might seem low grade, but because of their easy-mining large volumes, porphyry orebodies can be economic from copper concentrations as low as 0.15 per cent.

Alkane says there’s “several apparent similarities” between Boda and the upper sections of Newcrest’s nearby Cadia East deposit.

Basically, they’re saying this could be Cadia 2.0.

And we listed off a handful of small caps who also have ground around Alkane’s new discovery.

 

Hopefully you’re not superstitious, but just to be on the safe side best to steer clear of black cats. Have a good weekend!