• The ASX 200 falls flat 
  • Small caps drop -0.1%
  • Inflation inflates

We’ll get to this in a moment.

Via Google Finance

Josh, Reuben, Gregor and other bloodhounds have further details, as well.

 

In the meantime…

Yikes.

Annual inflation in the lucky nation rose to 7.3% last month, the highest since 1990 and taking the stakes when the central bank boffins meet on Melbourne Cup day, higher than ever.

The Australian Bureau of stabby numbers revealed a quarterly bump in the consumer price index (CPI) of 1.8% which lifted the annual pace from 6.1% in June.

 

Oh dear. That’s can’t be goods:

Via AMP Capital

The consensus overpaid economist forecast was for the annual rate to hit 7%, and the potshot projections out of the economist class probably backs the argument we need these reads more often.

The Chalmers budget, budgeted for inflation reaching 7.75% by the end of this year, before moderating to 5.75 by June next year, and then to 3.5 per cent by mid-2024.

The RBA expects the CPI to top out at 7.75% after Christmas. Today’s read places all those ideas and ruminations out the window.

Strong overnight gains for the Nasdaq and its Wall St friends delivered local markets a strong lead for the squandering. And squandered it was, the benchmark limping home and the small caps dipping into the slightly red.

One upside – Hong Kong’s horrible Hang Seng index found 2% after three consecutively awful sessions. After the Nasdaq’s heroics, theThe Hang Seng Tech index retraced 4%.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

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Gregor is right: there’s but one winner today.

WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1), which put out an announcement this morning which set off a mad rush like the glory days of yore when grizzled gold diggers ran roughshod over life, liberty and the whatever-country-I’m-in-way just to get a lick of what WA1 reported this morning.

The that its maiden drilling program has hit pay dirt in a massive way, tapping into a mineralised carbonatite system in the West Arunta – the first of its kind in the region.

Okay so it’s not gold – which is terrific – because WA1’s discovery of a niobium-rare earths carbonatite mineralised system makes gold look like a fool.

Reuben! To the explanation:  Niobium is a critical mineral mainly used in steel to make it stronger and lighter, but also has growing uses in lithium-ion batteries, intelligent glass, solar panels, 5G tech, and nuclear energy.

Ferroniobium metal (65% Nb) currently sells for ~US$45,000/t.

WA1’s only drillhole into the P2 target, part of the Pachpadra prospect area, pulled up thick, high grade numbers like 54m at 0.62% niobium, 0.18% rare earths and 3.85% phosphorus from 162m.

For a little context – here are 3 x major niobium mines in the world that Reuben counts; 2 x very high grade (between 1% and 2.5% ore grade), 1 x around 0.5%.

So let’s bullet these WA1 numbers so they look like this:

  • 54m at 0.62% Nb2O5, 0.18% TREO2 , 3.85% P2O5 from 162m within an overall interval of
  • 142m at 0.31% Nb2O5, 0.17% TREO, 3.94% P2O5 from 74m to 216m (EOH) and ending in
  • 2m at 1.22% Nb2O5, 0.22% TREO, 5.73% P2O5

The Panda Hill niobium project, previously owned by Cradle Resources (ASX:CXX), had an ore reserve grade of 0.68%. Globe Metals and Mining’s (ASX:GBE) advanced Kanyika project has a resource of 68Mt at a grade of 0.283%.

The fact that the hole at P2 finishes in material grading 1.22% means this thing could be getting better at depth. P2 also extends for 3km and has significant future exploration potential, WA1 managing director Paul Savich says..

The share price gains are equally impressive.

Outside of WA1 we owe Elmo Software a plug after the hard-working SaaS player agreed to a near-$500 million (US$319 million) takeover offer from US-based K1 Investment Management.

The Americans offered A$4.85 a pop in cash for the cloud-based software solutions firm with customers around the anglo-world ‘cept for North America. that operates in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The offer is a basically double (100.4% premium) to the closing share price on Oct. 12, the day before ELMO spilled the beans that there were sniffers around the house.

Shares hit 41% improvement by lunchtime smashing the 25% losses since January back out of the year.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

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