Kick Back: The 10 biggest stories you might have missed on Stockhead this week

To say tensions are running high is probably a massive understatement as people struggle with job losses, pay cuts and unreasonable demands from employers.

But this boss will definitely be regretting his decision to stop paying his employees altogether.

Company owner decided to stop paying his drivers so one of them parked their semi on the owners Ferrari and just left it there.
byu/FantasyFlyer3 inWellthatsucks

Karma’s a b#&*h!

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

Our vids are dominating the charts this week, taking out the top 3 spots.

1. Stockhead V-Con: The Future of TeleHealth

Claiming gold this week is our inaugural “V-Con” — a new conference series, bringing you expert insights, panel discussions and presentations on the most interesting and relevant investment sectors from leading analysts, listed small caps and industry participants.

And what better way to kick off a new conference than with a topic that is dominating the headlines right now thanks to COVID-19 — telehealth.

The pandemic has accelerated the uptake of telehealth because of the need to avoid contact with people.

So tune in to hear expert views on the state of play for the Australian telehealth sector and from companies at the forefront of this technological revolution.

2. RockTalk: Does uncertain supply make rare earths a BUY?

This week’s RockTalk is all about rare earths – which are kind of a hot topic right now, with COVID-19 shining a light on just how fragile the supply chain is.

Why? Because China controls most of the world’s rare earths supply. And we all saw what happened when the Asian powerhouse went into lockdown thanks to the virus outbreak.

In this two-part edition, host Peter Strachan digs deep on the rare earth market and how supply uncertainty is impacting the sector’s investment upside.

Tune in if you missed it the first time.

3. StockTalk: How cybersecurity firms are responding to the ‘new normal’ of remote work

Cybersecurity is another industry that is taking off thanks to the current situation.

With remote working becoming the norm, employers are looking for ways to protect their information and IP from cyber criminals.

The expert panel looks at how COVID-19 has impacted the cybersecurity market, what new threats have arrived in 2020 and what opportunities the sector offers investors.

Hear what they have to say.

4. What’s next for EdTechs now kids are back to school?

EdTechs also started coming into their own because of the pandemic, with online education being the only solution to teaching our kids when schools closed.

Tom Richardson from Janison Education (ASX:JAN) said “what was going to happen over five years, has really happened in two months.”

But now schools are starting to open up again around Australia, what happens to the EdTech players?

Nick Sundich chatted to one player in the space to find out what the future holds.

5. Here’s what the Australian travel industry will look like after COVID-19 and what it needs to recover

The Australian travel industry unfortunately is not one of the COVID-19 beneficiaries. The pandemic has crippled the industry.

Many companies were already reeling from the bushfires but now face the double whammy of the worst pandemic in a century.

In the last six months, the average ASX travel and tourism stock has lost 43 per cent.

So just what is on the other side for our travel specialists? Nick Sundich provides some insight on the “new norm” for the industry.

6. Chronic supply crunch = boom time for iron ore juniors

While other commodities have taken a hit, iron ore has been remarkably resilient thanks to several factors that led to declining supply prior to the pandemic.

And the experts we spoke to brought to the fore one major detail other industry commentators have failed to focus on: the rapidly declining reserves and grade of the iron ore mines belonging to the Big 4.

This is great news for junior explorers working their way towards production because it has opened up a supply gap that needs to be filled.

Find out just who these lucky juniors are and how they are planning to capitalise on the strengthening iron ore situation.

7. Trading Places: Check out the latest stock WiseTech’s Michael Gregg has been buying

Everyone wants to know where the key players are sinking their cash.

This week it’s all about what stock has caught the eye of Michael Gregg, a director and the sixth largest shareholder in one of Australia’s biggest tech stocks WiseTech (ASX:WTC).

What fun would it be if we just told you? If you didn’t read it the first time, you really should now.

8. The junior gold producers hitting the ball out of the park

Miners and explorers only have to have gold in their portfolio right now to strike a chord with investors.

But gaining further favour with investors comes when they are raking in the cash.

With quarterly reporting season on us, Bevis Yeo took the opportunity to review how some of the sub $1bn market cap gold producers performed in the March quarter.

And high gold production + low costs = very nice margins for some of the guys on the list.

9. Barry FitzGerald: The juniors vying for some hotly contested gold ground near Fosterville

Anything gold near Fosterville is bound to capture our readers’ attention.

Miners and explorers are also scrambling for ground surrounding Kirkland Lake’s (ASX:KLA) fabled Fosterville gold mine near Bendigo.

Tenders for the mineral exploration rights to the four “prospective’’ blocks closed in February and the winners were due to be announced about now.

BFitz says success with the tenders was set to be a major value-creating event – prompting the need for the process to be overseen by an independent probity adviser.

But COVID-19 has got in the way, with the government now saying an announcement on the outcome of the tender has been delayed until the second half of the year. Find out who the contenders are.

10. Deakin researchers’ breakthrough could see sodium batteries become a reality

Lithium is the go-to material for the current crop of rechargeable batteries that are widely seen as the lynchpin for the renewable energy sector becoming the primary contributor to the global energy mix.

But scientists have been researching options for other materials to replace lithium with serious effort placed on sodium as a potential replacement.

And there is so much more sodium in the world than lithium.

Bevis Yeo runs us through the advances researchers are making.

Happy Mother’s Day to all those special mums out there! Have a good weekend!