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

Even the animals reckon people should wear their masks.

One swan was clearly a little bit peeved this woman wasn’t wearing a mask or physically distancing.

“Put your damn mask on!” from funny

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

1. Gold Digger: Buffett’s big Barrick bet bolsters believers

The gold price may be taking a breather in the $US1,900/oz’s, but moves by legendary investor Warren Buffett indicate this could be a temporary blip.

Experts believe Berkshire Hathaway’s recent investment in Canadian gold miner Barrick shows Buffett is taking steps to protect his other investments from inflation.

In terms of the best bang for an investor’s buck, gold equities tend to do better than physical gold in a bullish gold environment.

And like he does every week, Reuben Adams runs through winners and losers.

2. Money Talks: Which mining stocks are hot (and not)?

Over the past year Simon Popple of UK-based Brookville Capital, who specialises in junior mining companies, has highlighted nine ASX mining and exploration stocks with growth potential.

All nine of them have performed well since.

Now he has sold some of them. Why? Good question!

Read on to find out which stocks Popple has exited and his rationale for selling.

3. ‘China still needs the products Australia sells’: The small caps setting up for success

Ask almost any ASX company or investor, and they’re likely to tout the benefits of a viable sales strategy into the Chinese market.

And despite the complexities 2020 has thrown up — COVID-19, increased geopolitical tension — a number of ASX small caps have been busy laying the groundwork for a viable long-term China strategy.

Sam Jacobs spoke to a handful of CEOs that are laser focused on cracking the China market.

4. Major miners are running out of gold, and that’s good news for explorers

Some of the world’s largest gold producers may be forced to engage in targeted acquisitions or expand their exploration activities to overcome a sharp decline in their gold reserves.

This is despite spending $US69.5bn on acquisitions and exploration activities since 2010, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

All this bodes well for advanced ASX gold explorers.

Mike Cooper has the details if you missed it.

5. The oil and gas players positioning for a post-COVID recovery with high-impact drilling

The oil and gas sector has not had it easy this year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions.

Global oil demand is sinking and prices have struggled to break past the $US45 ($62) per barrel mark. They even recently slipped below $US40 per barrel thanks to bearish news from world financial markets.

Despite the market beat-up, several ASX-listed companies are positioning themselves to take full advantage of the post-COVID recovery.

Bevis Yeo runs through the contenders.

6. ASX tech players have outdone their US counterparts during COVID-19

Tech is the gift that just keeps on giving. And the Aussies are beating the Yanks.

While the ASX’s headline indices are still below pre-COVID lows unlike the American exchanges, our tech sector has performed better than the US during COVID-19.

In fact, our tech sector has outperformed all of its global peers. Read on if you missed it.

7. Guy on Rocks: Why a recession seems to be good news for resources

When someone says ‘recession’ investors usually flee risky stocks.

But apparently a health pandemic is a good time to start playing the stock market – or at least that’s the trend that has emerged during COVID.

And resources is outperforming other sectors, according to resident Stockhead commentator Guy Le Page.

Find out what’s happening in the market.

8. US-China tech trade war fries semiconductor stocks

The American semiconductor sector took a bit of a beating in the past week. What the hell are semiconductors you might ask… and why is there a whole sector dedicated to it?

While semiconductors are just a material that conducts electricity, the term is used broadly to refer to technologies that use the material, particularly computer chips.

And we all know when Wall Street takes a dive, the Aussie exchanges follow.

Nick Sundich recaps just what happened to ASX-listed semiconductor stocks.

9. Three ASX energy stocks on the verge of ‘company makers’

You’ve read the book, now watch the movie!

Following Bevis Yeo’s oil rundown above, Peter Strachan continued the conversation on camera with the bosses of Warrego Energy (ASX:WGO), Cue Energy (ASX:CUE) and Melbana Energy (ASX:MAY).

Tune in to hear what they had to say.

10. The Secret Broker: Livin’ on the hedge

This week’s tale is one of what life was like before the “hedge fund”.

It involves going long in takeover targets and shorting the suitor, something slightly less evil than blackmail, and TSB’s gardener being wealthier than him.

You can get all the details here.

Have a good weekend!