Zircon Miners On The March
While resources pundits regard copper as the commodity most reflective of the world’s economic strength or otherwise, the more obscure zircon arguably is an even better guide.
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ASX Brewers Tapping Into The Craft Beer Revolution
With Foster’s Group and Lion taken over by foreign owners some time ago, local investors have been denied an ASX exposure to a major brewer. But for those hankering for a taste for beer there are smaller boutique alternatives
Read MoreBunker Down With These Defence Stocks
Given the current swooning stock market there’s plenty of talk about defensive stocks, but in the case of some of our listed defence suppliers that concept has a more literal hue.
Read MoreSmall Caps Charging Up The Electric Vehicle Market
If there’s one thing holding back the electrical vehicle sector it’s ‘range anxiety’ – the sickly feeling that you’re not going to make it to the next sparsely-located charging station and will spend the night by a lonely verge. Here’s a solution.
Read MoreThe Business Of Sports Technology: Where To Invest
In the contact sports sphere, concussion is fast evolving from an acceptable workplace risk to a multi-billion dollar headache for sports organisations and – more pertinently – their insurers.
Read MoreCan Coking Coal Stocks Still Fire Up Your Portfolio?
For Old King Coal, it’s a case of Coke is It: demand for metallurgical (coking) coal remains robust amid questions about the long-term outlook for thermal coal.
Read MoreAre Home Building Stocks On Solid Ground?
The listed builders of detached dwellings are holding their own amid a stiffening housing downturn, with the ‘strength in adversity’ message emanating from their recent profit results.
Read MoreDipping Into Water Stocks
The dry conditions in many of the key farming regions highlight the importance of water security for our listed agricultural plays. When it comes to water rights, some are in a better position than others.
Read MoreRoyal Commission Builds Solid Platform For Independent Wealth Providers
If there’s a clear winner from the murky swamp of revelations uncovered by the banking royal commission, it’s the provider of independent administration and investment platforms for the financial advisory industry.
Read MoreChecking In On The Childcare Sector
The listed childcare sector has been popular with investors, but emerging oversupply and affordability issues mean that all is not well in the sandpit. The operators are banking on the government’s revised subsidy scheme to revive their fortunes.
Read MoreFinding Growth In Fintech Stocks
Fintech Novatti is targeting migrants and foreign students in its quest to become Australia’s next bank. Meanwhile, Raiz (the former Acorns) is shrugging off a poor market reaction to its recent listing as it tries to reform the savings habits of Millennials.
Read MoreSeeking Talent In Recruitment Stocks
For the recruitment sector it’s been a case of hard labour for the last few years, but there are signs of a reprieve.
Read MorePot Plays Mull Over Their Strategies As Sector Goes Off The Boil
We wouldn’t say it’s gone to pot, but the ASX-listed cannabis sector is facing a much-needed reality check as investors realise that the medical marijuana aspirants need more than a ‘grow it and they will come’ strategy.
Read MoreFinding Value In The Aussie Gold Sector
The rising greenback means bullion continues to be under pressure, but in $A terms it’s a different story and the good times continue to roll for our ASX-listed miners. But with the majors looking fully priced, it’s time to dig a little deeper
Read MoreAre These LICs Worth Buying?
Growth stocks have outperformed value stocks in recent times, but the 31 year old value investor Templeton Growth Fund is a patient investor. Elsewhere in the listed investment company sector, a new fund is taking a different approach to ensure it doesn’t trade at a discount to asset backing.
Read MoreBurning Questions Over Avita, Polynovo Valuations
Both Avita Medical and Polynovo are in the game of developing innovative burns and wounds treatments, but investors ascribe disparate valuations. Is the cavernous valuation gap justified?
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Sigma Vs Ebos
Drug distributor Sigma’s loss of a major contract to supply the burgeoning Chemist Warehouse chain is a bitter pill to swallow, although the company maintains there are positives as well. In the meantime, the whole sector is looking more challenging as new entrants such as Amazon and DHL eye the market.
Read MoreAre Parking Stocks In The Right Spot?
While Smart Parking struggles to stay on the entry ramp in the UK following the sacking of its regional CEO and CFO, locally the age-old Hills conglomerate is alive to the sound of parking technology such as number-plate recognition.
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Tech Staffing Stocks
Paying staff accurately and managing travel bookings efficiently might seem like HR 101 but many employers still can’t get it right. But two cloud-based recent ASX entrants are seeking to make the task easier.
Read MoreSearching For Value In Beaten Up Mortgage Brokers
With the mortgage broking sector already under the regulatory blowtorch, Mortgage Choice has added to the pain with revelations of unhappy franchisees. But is there value emerging in the marked down shares, as well as those of listed counterpart Australian Financial Group?
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Quickstep Takes To The Air
Carbon components specialist Quickstep is flying high with an ongoing parts contract for the Joint Strike Fighter program, but investors remain wary because the company is yet to turn a profit. Also in the tech space, Sensera has gone to market with a better tool to track mining equipment – and cows.
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Investing In Your Broker
In the old days, the listing of a broking firm was a sure sign the market had peaked. But has the sector matured? Meanwhile, a niche broker is relying on the wisdom of the masses to seek the best investments.
Read MoreAn Intriguing Insurer Plus A New Data Centre Entrant
A low key listed life insurer is in an intriguing position following a recent acquisition. Meanwhile, a newly-listed data centre operator has the big players in its sights.
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Drilling Into The Dental Sector
This week The New Criterion drills down into the listed dental sector, which has just expanded by one-third with the listing of a new practice consolidator.
Read MoreThe Uranium Sector: On The Crest Of A Recovery Wave Or Down In The Dumpers?
The paradox of the current uranium market is that the more the major producers curtail output because of a stubbornly low price for the commodity, the higher the hopes of a recovery.
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Pooled Development Funds
A handful of Paul Keating era pooled development funds survive as listed companies. Two of them -Authorised Investment Fund and Acrux – have taken measures to revive their fortunes so that investors one day may enjoy the full benefits of the PDF structure.
Read MoreTwo Payment Stocks Worth Processing
Here’s a tale of two payments houses: newcomer Emerchants is strongly expanding its global reach – but not reaping the share price benefits – while the 40 year old Cabcharge is seeking to restore its rightful place in the disrupted taxi industry.
Read MoreSmall Caps In The Infant Formula Sector
Clover Corp has been a big winner from the China-led boom in infant formula, but by supplying a key ingredient rather than the end product. Meanwhile, other dairy suppliers have refused to follow the herd and are diversifying into goat’s milk.
Read MoreA Concrete Deal For Tasman Resources
As a developer of a concrete additive to make the ubiquitous building material tougher and lighter, the US-focused Eden should be benefiting from the Trump-inspired infrastructure spending push. But does its listed associate present better value?
Read MoreTwo Small Cap Gold Miners Worth Exploring
Gold miner West Wits has turned its focus from the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya to South Africa’s famed Witwatersrand region. Meanwhile, the revived Kingrose Mining is out to prove that ASX listed miners can do business in Indonesia.
Read MoreBack To School On Education Stocks
The survivors in the listed vocational education sector are licking their wounds from recent controversies and nourishing young minds. The government is loosening its funding purse strings, too.
Read MoreTwo Boom Tassie Small Caps
The previous basket case Tasmania is in the midst of an unlikely economic boom. Here’s a (two) heads-up on how to gain an ASX exposure.
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Buyout Biotech Candidates
The animal spirits are back in the biotech sector after two recent takeovers of two ASX-listed companies.
Read MoreThe New Criterion: Exploring Mining Services
There are more ways to gain exposure to commodities than buying the miners themselves. Here are two alternatives.
Read MoreFinding A Good Bet On Gambling Stocks
Lottery ticket reseller Jumbo took the right decision to align itself with traditional partner Tatts Group rather than aggressive challenger Lottoland. Meanwhile, digital promotions house OtherLevels believes that a clamp on wagering advertising will be good for business
Read MoreThe New Criterion: A Turning Point In Nickel
Some argue that nickel is a more important component in electric vehicle batteries than lithium or graphite. Whatever the case, nickel stocks have found their groove although they remain vulnerable to renewed market volatility.
Read MoreThe New Criterion: From Bitcoin To Blockchain
Another form of crypto craziness, or a more respectable iteration of bitcoin and its many cousins? Just as the listed bitcoin sector emerged from the depths of the cyber haze in 2017, 2018 is shaping up as the year of the blockchain – the underlying technology supporting crypto currencies.
Read MoreThree 3D Printing Stocks For Your Portfolio
From heavy duty oil and gas equipment to making figurines of Richmond cult hero Dustin Martin, the use of 3D printing technology is boundless.
Read MoreSmooth Driving For Connected Cars?
Your crusty columnist really must widen his social circle from his ageing acquaintances, as he had never heard of US rap artist Danielle Bregoli or Indian actor and singer Chinmayi Sripaada.
Read MoreChecking Up On Asthma Stocks
Judging from a yarn told by Adherium CEO Arik Anderson, the respiratory medicine monitoring house has more consumer education to do despite moving 100,000 units of its Smartinhaler asthma devices to date.
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