We know getting sun is important, but “sunbathing your bumhole”  is just next level crazy.

The politically correct term is “perineum sunning” according to female-centric platform Bolde:

https://www.bolde.com/sunbathing-bumhole-wellness-trend/

Apparently baring your bum to the sun for less than a minute not only keeps it clean, it also helps regulate hormones, improves sleep and gives you more energy.

“In a mere 30 seconds of sunlight on your [bum], you will receive more energy from this electric node than you would in an entire day being outside with your clothes on,” Bolde quoted Instagram user Ra of Earth as saying in a now viral video.

But on a more serious note, we have a much better reason for baring your bum – to raise awareness about bowel cancer.

Perth radio station mix94.5 is hosting a “Bare Your Bum For Bowel Cancer” to farewell long serving radio colleague “Captain Paul”, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in August and is retiring from radio to spend more time with his family.

The plan is that on Friday December 6 at 7.30am they will “farewell Captain Paul with ‘Perth’s biggest moonie’ to make sure the health of our bottoms, stays TOP of mind!”

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

 

1. Explorers Podcast: Where are we currently in the mining boom-bust cycle? And what sets a junior apart for an ASX fund manager?

Our podcasts are proving a hit with readers, and in this case especially when a successful fund manager tells investors what makes a junior explorer/miner attractive to him.

In this episode, Barry FitzGerald talks with Hedley Widdup, investment manager at Lion Selection Group (ASX:LSX).

Lion Selection is a specialist fund focused on the junior mining and exploration sector. A geologist by training, Hedley joined the group as an analyst in 2007 and has been tracking the junior sector ever since.

Simply put, what Hedley doesn’t know about the junior sector isn’t worth knowing.

Tune in to hear more.

 

2. Mineral sands isn’t sexy, but here’s why the sector still has appeal

Mineral sands doesn’t grab the headlines the way that lithium, nickel and gold do.

But mineral sands are used in countless everyday products that you may not even think twice about – things like engines, electronics, spacecraft and ceramics.

And then there’s products like paints, fabrics, plastics, paper, sunscreen, food and cosmetics.

At one point American doughnut giant Dunkin’ Donuts even used titanium dioxide to make the powdered sugar on its donuts appear whiter.

So it’s little wonder demand is on the rise – which is good news for those up and coming mineral sands producers.

Read all about who is in that space.

 

3. Money Talks: It’s all about gold in 2020 — here are 3 stocks with plenty of upside

Everyone loves a good stock tip – well here’s three: gold, gold and, you guessed it, gold.

Simon Popple of UK-based Brookville Capital says there used to be two certainties in life; death and taxes. There are now three: death, taxes and escalating global debt.

And that’s great for gold. Popple’s predictions for the precious metal is that it will hit “$US1,600 ($2,360) per ounce at some point in 2020”.

Even better for investors, he offers up his three top gold stock picks – read on.

 

4. Another buy now, pay later entrant is set to join the ASX — does the sector have further to run?

Anyone who rode the Afterpay (ASX:APT) wave would be laughing all the way to the bank right now.

And it’s not the only buy now, pay later (BNPL) stock that has done alright, so it’s probably not surprising there’s a new ASX hopeful – Openpay, which has ambitions of listing in December.

The company runs a similar model to incumbent players, providing instalment repayment plans and deriving merchant fee revenue.

Share prices of the existing BNPL stocks have surged across the board this year, holding their gains in spite of some headwinds — namely increased competition and regulatory risk.

Check out how they’ve performed.

 

5. Gold: Gina Rinehart sinks another ~$7.8m into Victorian hit machine Catalyst

Gold – check. Australia’s richest woman – check. Need I say more.

Of course this one is in this week’s top 10 because everyone wants to know where Gina Rinehart is dropping her cash.

And this week she has become Catalyst Metal’s (ASX:CYL) largest shareholder after she took part in a recent placement.

This explorer controls a stretch of ground on the so-called Whitelaw Gold Belt in Victoria, a structure which the explorer believes is responsible for the formation of the Bendigo gold deposits (historically ~22 million ounces of gold produced at a grade of 15g/t).

Not only is it good to have a billionaire in your corner, after this latest placement Catalyst will now have cash at bank in excess of $20m heading into 2020.

 

6. The Explorers: Magmatic’s David Richardson on big porphyry potential and Alkane’s perfect timing

This week Reuben Adams had a little tête-à-tête with Magmatic boss David Richardson.

Magmatic has found itself in a pretty good spot after neighbour Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK) hitting the big one at its Boda prospect in NSW’s Lachlan Fold belt.

The company had been planning to spin out its flagship East Lachlan copper-gold porphyry assets until Alkane’s big news.

So what did Richardson say about it: “My reaction was’ holy s**t – this is fantastic! We had better stop the demerger, pull the prospectus’.

And now the market is finally interested in Magmatic and its share price which, since Alkane’s big hit in September, has increased over 816 per cent.

 

7. Here’s how the food industry is changing and the small caps in the blocks to capitalise

It’s not all about resources this week, our readers also fancied a little bit of food news.

While plant-based meat and food delivery seem to be the two trends gaining momentum they are part of a broader trend of making food more efficient as well as sustainable.

And venture capitalists are jumping onboard.

Around $US16.9 billion ($24.9 billion) is invested in the food and waste technology market alone. That’s nothing to be sneezed at.

Check out who might be playing in that space and how they are planning to cash in on it.

 

8. Hedge fund of London billionaire Crispin Odey says traders are ‘gaming’ iron ore markets

It’s no secret that the Chinese manipulate the iron ore price, but have you ever wondered how they do it?

Well this article gives you a brief glimpse at how the major Asian traders are “gaming” iron ore and what needs to be done to prevent this kind of manipulation.

Prices for benchmark 62 per cent fines have had a rollercoaster year, rising from less than $US70/t ($103/t) last November to a record high above $US125/t, before falling back below $US90.

Where will it go next?

 

9. Cybersecurity is a $183 billion opportunity and these are the stocks tapping into it

So many multi-billion-dollar market opportunities!

Cybersecurity product sales are set to reach $US124 billion ($183 billion) in 2019 as organisations become aware of the costs of cyberattacks.

And there are just six ASX small caps involved in cybersecurity.

 

10. Tim Treadgold: Investors should keep a watchful eye on small miners with high costs

Some wise words from Stockhead columnist Tim Treadgold this week.

And some real doozies of examples of what can happen when an explorer/miner goes head-to-head with a high-cost project.

Gold producer Millennium Minerals (ASX:MOY) went into administration this week and Metals X (ASX:MLX) announced it was mothballing its Nifty copper mine.

Tim wrote that these were sobering reminders that even with gold in Australian dollars hovering close to an all-time high, and with copper at close to $US6,000 a tonne, there are always operational risks in mining which can crush a business.

Here’s his tips for what to watch out for when assessing a mining potential investment.

Have a great weekend!