When investors think of fully franked dividends, they often think of just the big, brand-name stocks. These include large banks like Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) and marquee retailers like Woolworths (ASX: WOW).

Yet the small-cap sector may hold even more promise for income-oriented, ASX investors. Here are three lesser known companies paying impressive, fully franked dividends.

Idea #1: Salmat

Sydney-based marketing and communications company Salmat Limited (ASX: SLM) has a market cap of around $300 million. Shares trade for less than 14 times earnings, while the shares pay a dividend in the 8% range, fully franked.

While the company is in the midst of a turnaround, the balance sheet boasts over $100 million in net cash, growth may come from the call centre business and the new CEO has a good track record at his former employer.

Idea #2: RCG Corporation

RCG Corporation (ASX: RCG) is a holding company with its primary business centered in The Athlete's Foot, a chain of footwear stores that RCG both operates and franchises. While many retailers are struggling, The Athlete's Foot has recently seen strong same-store sales growth and the company's wholesale division is also growing quickly.

RCG shares trade for around 24 times earnings – not an unreasonable multiple given the growth profile – and pay a fully franked yield in the 6% range.

Idea #3: Coventry Group

Industrial play Coventry Group (ASX: CYG) operates a number of businesses, with fasteners and fluids being the primary business lines. While the company recently issued an earnings downgrade and announced it will exit its furniture parts business, Coventry Group still has a net cash position of over $50 million, while a share buyback program is also underway. CYG shares trade for a shade a little under 10 times (trailing) earnings and pay a fully franked dividend with a yield over 8%.

In the market for even more high yielding ASX shares? Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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Motley Fool contributor Catherine Baab-Muguira has no financial interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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However, a number of companies have fared far better, trumping the overall index. Here are the two of the top performers in the ASX 200 – in terms of share price appreciation – in the last twelve months.

#1: Magellan Financial Group

Shares of Magellan Financial Group (ASX: MFG) have been going great guns, climbing a massive 326% over the last 12 months.

In the most recent half, Magellan Financial Group grew revenue by 112%, from $15.5 million in the previous correspond period to $32.9 million, while net operating profit after tax grew from $5.2 million to over $15 million.

The Sydney-based funds manager operates three global-oriented investment funds and is led by chief executive Hamish Douglass, recently named one of Australia's 10 best performing CEOs by The Australian Financial Review. In an accompanying interview, Douglass told that publication that Magellan has the potential to grow funds under management "from $11 billion now to $30 billion."

Continued growth in assets under management (and performance fees) should lead to continued revenue and profit growth, though much of this seems already baked into the share price, with MFG shares now trading for nearly 60 times earnings.

#2: Flight Centre (ASX: FLT)

Flagship Australian travel company Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) has also had an incredible year – with its shares rising well over 100% — as the stock has recovered from lingering market fears about the viability of Flight Centre's primarily brick-and-mortar based business in the age of the internet. Most recently, the company upgraded earnings – against a background of around 100 Australian companies issuing downgrades – demonstrating its resilience in the face of a slowing domestic economy and a falling Australian dollar.

Today, shares of Flight Centre are trading for around 18 times earnings, a relatively reasonable multiple given the company's prospects for growth as it expands internationally, including in the U.S. and in China.

Looking for the big winners of tomorrow? Two of Australia's most promising small companies are still flying under the radar. Discover these two exciting ASX investments in our brand-new special FREE report, "2 Small Cap Superstars". Click here now, it's free!

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Motley Fool contributor Catherine Baab-Muguira has no financial interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Despite the steep rise over the last 12 months, which has seen the shares pack on 30%-plus, not all of the news coming out of Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) is good news.

The company is announcing back-office job cuts and a possible operational restructure at its struggling Target chain. This comes on the heels of an earnings downgrade for the chain, with earnings for the full year now expected to be between $140 million and $160 million versus EBIT of $244 million in the previous corresponding period.

Retail results and Target turnaround

While Wesfarmers' business interests range from insurance to resources and hotels, the company's results are primarily concentrated in retail. In addition to Target, Wesfarmers also operates Kmart and Bunnings stores, as well as its massive supermarket chain and primary revenue source, Coles.

Wesfarmers acquired the then-struggling supermarket chain in 2007, for some $20 billion. In its well executed turnaround, Wesfarmers has seen Coles sales (including liquor sales, as well as convenience store and petrol sales) rise from just under $17 billion in 2008 to top $34 billion in 2012, despite stiff competition from the other half of Australia's supermarket duopoly, Woolworths (ASX: WOW).

To help with a turnaround now required at Target, Wesfarmers has dispatched Stuart Machin, recently head of store development and operations at Coles. As The Sydney Morning Herald has reported, "Mr Machin… helped resurrect Coles after Wesfarmers bought the underperforming supermarket business more than five years ago."

Overseas acquisitions?

Wesfarmers may also look to make further acquisitions, including overseas acquisitions. Its large cash balance suggests such is possible, and chief executive Richard Goyder recently said at the G100 conference in Sydney that "Inevitably I think in the years ahead Wesfarmers will do more offshore… We will have a look and we will probably dip our toe in various places."

Still, Wesfarmers path to future growth is not altogether clear, while the shares are trading for over 20 times earnings. Investors may want to wait for a significant pullback – or seek that magical combination of growth and steady dividends elsewhere.

The Australian Financial Review says "good quality Australian shares that have a long history of paying dividends are a real alternative to a term deposit." Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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Valuation and defensive play

Today, Woolies' shares are trading for 18 times earnings. But should the share price drop and this multiple compress further, this premier Australian company could enter cheaper – even "buy" — territory.

Woolworths isn't just a premier Australian company, of course. With its business centered in consumer staples – groceries, beer – it could make an excellent holding in the event of a recession Down Under. While consumers might cut back their spending at, say, at a department store like David Jones (ASX: DJS), they're not likely to stop buying milk, cheese and bread at Woolies.

Some analysts have expressed concern around Woolworths' Masters chain of home improvement stores, yet the company has said this chain is on target to break even in 2015-2016.

And while nearly 100 Australian companies have issued earnings downgrades of late, even market darlings such as Cochlear (ASX: COH), there's been no such news from Woolworths. The company has forecast net profit after tax growth of between 4% and 6% for the full year.

The bottom line for investors

Sure, you wouldn't call this sort of profit growth spectacularly exciting – Woolworths is, on the whole, a mature business. But for stability and relative safety, it could be a good bet, at the right price. Woolworths shares also pay a fully franked dividend, with a yield in the 4% range.

Likewise, every Aussie investor knows Telstra, but only the smart money is on the move now… Discover whether you should buy, sell or hold Telstra shares in our brand-new report, written by a top Motley Fool analyst. It's free, click here for your instant download!

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In recent days, shares of Telstra (ASX: TLS) have been getting cheaper.

As the S&P/ASX 200 index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has fallen about 3% in recent days, Telstra shares have fallen by nearly 6%. Today, Telstra shares are trading for 17 times earnings and on an EV to EBITDA basis of about 7.

A strong business – let us count the ways

Telstra has competitive advantages galore. It's got an incredibly strong brand – ranking as the third top brand in Australia, just behind Woolworths (ASX: WOW) and BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP), according to the Australian Marketing Institute.

Its position as the nation's leading telco is nigh unassailable. Per a succinct summary on the company's website: "Telstra's network and systems infrastructure underpins the carriage and termination of the majority of Australia's domestic and international voice and data telephony traffic." With the NBN, Telstra may cede some of this infrastructure, but it will be handsomely compensated.

The growth of its already large domestic mobile customer base may be somewhat limited — with sales growing in the mid-single digits as of the first half of 2013. Still, Telstra's overseas business has been growing, with sales climbing over 10% and 321,000 new CSL customers added, also as of the half year 2013 report. Its future is also underpinned by the growth in cloud computing and its data centre services, with network applications and services posting strong growth as well.

The company also owns 50% of Foxtel, with News Corp (ASX: NWS) owning the other half. Telstra collected a $55 million dividend from Foxtel in the first half of 2013.

The case for investors

For many investors, one of the most attractive points will be Telstra's fully franked 28-cent dividend, which makes for a yield in the 5.8% range.

Looking to judge your entry point for a potential investment in Telstra? Wondering whether you should add to your position, or perhaps sell your shares? Get a top analyst's latest Telstra recommendation in our brand-new investment report. Click here now, your copy is FREE!

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When it comes to ASX small caps, Bill Laister is a practiced hand. Working in finance since the age of 21, he's moved from the operating floor, up through the broking ranks, and finally, since 1990, into funds management, doing it all the "old fashioned" way, as he puts it.

"What my years of experience have taught me is that good ideas can come from many different places," he says. "So in the microcap space, you need to talk to a lot of CEOs, finance people, and just a broad brush of people with differing levels of skills and industry involvement."

Today, Laister is a senior fund manager for Contango, specializing in microcaps, metals, mining and gold.

He recently agreed to share some insights from the field with our Foolish audience. Simply read on to discover where Laister sees opportunity today, some of his favourite long-term stocks, and his outlook on gold prices.

What role does qualitative analysis play in your stock picking? Do you tend to be more narrative or numbers focused?

The numbers might help filter a company, or confirm what your view is, but they are just one cog in the wheel.

The smaller the company, the greater the focus on qualitative research you need, i.e. to know the track record of the key personnel and companies' assets, etc.

Microcap investments are more driven by the bottom-up analysis — understanding what drives the business rather than the economic outlook of the global economy.

Do you tend to focus on any special situations or types of companies?

Not so much situations—more so established microcap companies with a proven track record that are looking to expand. We look particularly to those with potential to move from microcap to small cap to large cap. Generally, we target companies with a market cap between $10 million and $350 million at the time of investment.

Ours is a top-down approach, so as we move through different stages of the business cycle, we will alter the structure of the portfolio. A good example is through the super commodity cycle of the 2004 to 2011 when we were heavily weighted to anything mining related. Now currently we have a portfolio that is underweight mining, and instead very heavily weighted toward growing micro-size industrial companies, ones whose earnings and dividends are less related to global growth.

Are there any 'deal breakers' for you when looking at a potential investment?

Every company has a price! That said, we tend to avoid pseudo-private equity, biotech or early stage companies. Also, with mining companies at exploration stage, we wait until they have a resource that we can wrap some numbers around before we invest.

Are there any companies you'd describe as core holdings?

Some of our longer-term holdings include MacMillan Shakespeare (ASX: MMS), Austbrokers (ASX: AUB), Slater & Gordon (ASX: SGH), M2 Telecomm (ASX: MTM) and G8 Education (ASX: GEM).

What is your outlook for gold prices?

Based on our current view, we went negative on the gold price back in October of 2012, so we have been insulated against a lot of the gold price weakness and we expect it to continue to fall.

What makes it difficult to forecast is that — gold isn't a commodity, but rather a currency, so it is more a 'weight of money' argument. Currently we see further selling pressure from ETFs (exchange traded funds), outweighing the lift in demand from consumers—hence we anticipate further weakness.

There are so many drivers of the gold price – inflation expectations, money supply, political and financial uncertainty, US dollar movements and falling real interest rates, to name just a few.

All of these factors contributed to the gold price moving from US$800/oz just prior to the Lehman's collapse in October 2008 to US$1,900/oz in September 2011, largely through the purchase of ETFs. Going forward, we view those factors contributing to the increase in gold prices as the reason as why gold prices will continue to weaken presently.

The world came very close to financial meltdown in 2008 — but still, the anticipated meltdown did not happen. Despite the copious amounts of money printing around the globe, inflation remains in check.

Indeed the U.S. is talking about winding back their third round of quantitative easing! Accordingly, real interest rates are starting to rise and the US dollar is appreciating. The general fear in the market is unwinding, and hence the need to own an asset that pays no income is diminishing. Investors are effectively chasing better returns elsewhere as they are move out along the risk curve.

The big unknown is the amount of gold that is going to be released from the ETFs. As it currently stands, there is the potential for one years' supply to come onto the market in a short amount of time.

In our view the need to hold gold has diminished and we believe gold will remain under pressure over the next six months.

What's the most interesting trend in the ASX today, according to you?

We have seen the microcap resources companies being sold off aggressively (versus the industrials in recent months, as investors are looking for yield- and growth-focussed stocks). This has seen the share prices move well below what we would see as fundamental value… We are also avid China watchers. We send someone to China every six months to stay on top of how the economy is travelling.

So while we still remain underweight on resources… there is no doubt that there is potential money to be made if you can time the entry to a stronger Chinese economy. Naturally, we are spending a lot of our time focussed on this specific issue!

Attention investors! Excited about ASX small caps? Learn about two more of the ASX's most promising small cap companies in our brand-new free investment report. Click here now, your copy is FREE!

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 Motley Fool contributor Catherine Baab-Muguira has no financial interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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In the last five trading days while nothing has fundamentally changed in the outlook for their business potential or earnings potential,  iiNet (ASX: IIN), M2 Telecommunications (ASX: MTU) and TPG Telecom (ASX: TPM) have all seen their share prices fall between 7% and 14%. In comparison, over the same period Telstra (ASX: TLS) has dropped 5%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has declined 3.7%.

Source: Google Finance

So what does this mean for investors?

When markets get the wobbles and the share prices in good companies drop, it's worth investors asking themselves a few questions.

Firstly, has anything fundamentally changed the outlook for these telco companies? No, would appear to be the answer in this instance.

Secondly, is the price fall excessive or were the shares perhaps overpriced to begin with? On broker consensus numbers for financial year 2014 (FY14) it does look like TPG is fully valued, trading on a price-to-earnings (PE) multiple of about 18 times, so perhaps TPG's price fall is understandable. The falls in iiNet and M2 Telecommunications are less understandable. They are both trading on FY14 PE ratios of about 13 times, which looks appealing and worthy of further research by interested Fools.

Foolish takeaway

While Telstra offers a dependable dividend yield, its revenue growth outlook is less appealing. In contrast, the smaller, niche telco companies have potentially exciting growth profiles.

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Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.

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Coal price pain

With the fall in hard cocking coal prices to around US$150/tonne today from US$300/tonne in 2011, BHP management has acted decisively, stripping over $800 million in annualised costs out of the coal business so far. These cost saving have been achieved in a number of ways including the closure of high cost mines and the announced sale of New Mexico-based coal assets. Management has also announced there will be no new major projects which will substantial reduce development expenditure. At the same time, the Queensland assets which are currently producing at 100% will expand capacity by 40% by 2015; this will go some way to balancing the lost revenue from lower coal prices and closures.

BHP's presentation comes hot on the heels of New Hope Coal's (ASX: NHC) decision to reduce production at its higher cost Jeebropilly mine in Queensland. Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) which mines coal in NSW is also being affected by lower coal prices which are lowering its demand for contracted rail and port services for which it is still forced to pay.

Asciano (ASX: AIO) and Aurizon (ASX: AZJ) (formerly QR National) both have significant exposure to the coal industry through their provision of haulage services in NSW and Queensland to the coal miners. Luckily these two freight operators enjoy long-term contracts which are of a nature which has so far protected them from exposure to the falling coal price.

Foolish takeaway

Owning single mine companies and single resource producers exposes investors to significant risks. Instead, investors should consider investing in low-cost, diversified miners to reduce their investment risk.

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In this case, the buyback won't directly add extra bucks to investors' portfolio, but will instead serve as a means to offset share issuances resulting from the corporation's Dividend Reinvestment Plan and Bonus Option plan. ANZ had previously announced a 2013 interim dividend of $0.73 per share, payable on 1 July to any investor with shares purchased on or before 15 May.

"ANZ is committed to achieving ongoing capital efficiencies in its business," said CFO Shayne Elliott in a statement today. "We are comfortable with our current capital position and the board has decided on this occasion to neutralise the dilutive impact of the DRP and BOP through an on-market share purchase."

ANZ isn't alone in distributing dividends to return value to shareholders. The Australian Financial Review says "good quality Australian shares that have a long history of paying dividends are a real alternative to a term deposit." Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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While it is by no means certain that Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party will win government at the upcoming election, the odds would certainly seems to be stacked against Prime Minister Gillard at this stage. With the high probability of a change in government in September, investors are considering how that might change the investment landscape.

A recent article in The Australian Financial Review speculated that shadow treasurer Joe Hockey had identified the interstate railway asset Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) as a potentially saleable asset.

The ARTC owns and manages 8500 km of rail tracks spanning from WA, through SA, Vic, NSW and up to Qld. The public accounts show that last year it made $265 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairments. Ascribing a multiple of 10 times to these assets, would suggest a sale price of over $2.6 billion, however this would undervalue the assets which are valued on the books at $4.2 billion and include over $1 billion in recent capital expenditure.

A sale of ARTC would be in keeping with moves by other rail track owners who are looking to offload track assets as well.

Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) is looking for a minority partner to purchase a 30% to 40% stake in The Pilbara Infrastructure (TPI) subsidiary which houses Fortescue's port and rail assets. The sale proceeds are expected to be used to reduce some of the $10 billion in debts that the company is carrying.

Joining the party is Aurizon (ASX: AZJ) (formerly QR National) which also recently announced it was looking to sell a minority stake in its track assets to improve the capital structure of the company.

There would no doubt be many interested parties for the ARTC assets including Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) which is no stranger to infrastructure deals. The appeal of ARTC is the diversity of its revenue base and expansive track network, which contrasts to the higher risks associated with TPI's exposure to iron ore and Aurizon's exposure to coal.

Foolish takeaway

As investors it is always important to remember that for each transaction there is a buyer and a seller. While the government will make non-commercial decisions based on ideology – which can create a great buying opportunity for investors – companies like Aurizon and Fortescue have deep knowledge of what they are selling and it should never be underestimated that the seller in these instances knows more than the buyers.

The Australian Financial Review says "good quality Australian shares that have a long history of paying dividends are a real alternative to a term deposit." Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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Overnight, iron ore prices fell below US$120 a tonne, to U$117.80 a tonne, continuing the recent slide. Two weeks ago, iron ore officially entered bear market territory, after falling more than 20% from its high of US$158.90 a tonne in February 2013. At that stage, prices were around US$125 a tonne.

For Australia's big miners BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO), which both generate a significant proportion of earnings from iron ore, it's not good news. However, both BHP and Rio are amongst the lowest cost producers of iron ore, with total costs of between US$40 – US$50 a tonne. At current prices, both miners are still generating significant profit margins on iron ore, and would still be profitable at much lower prices. Although, that may not be the case for smaller iron ore plays like Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX) and even Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG).

Based on the latest earnings reports, Rio generated 91% of its net production earnings from iron ore, with another 11% coming from copper, 3% from coal and uranium and 1% from diamonds and minerals. Other operations generated a loss representing -5% of net production earnings. With Rio ramping up its iron ore production, iron ore will become an increasingly larger part of company earnings and it's virtually a pure iron ore play.

By contrast, BHP's iron ore earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) represents 49% of total EBIT. Petroleum contributed 32% of EBIT, with copper another 20%, while coal, nickel, aluminium and other commodities making up the minor difference. While BHP is also in the process of ramping up its iron ore operations, the company is significantly increasing its petroleum production, with just its Eagle Ford shale increasing output five-fold over the next four years. Total petroleum production is expected to be 50% above current levels by 2017.

Foolish takeaway

Iron ore prices are expected to fall further, as China moves away from an industrial focused economy to a consumer-based economy. Other emerging nations are unlikely to fill in the fall in demand. While the falls in the Australian dollar will offset some of the falls in commodity prices, it won't totally compensate the miners. Rio and BHP will also offset some of the fall in commodity prices by increasing production volumes, but Rio's profits are more likely to fall faster and further than BHP's, thanks to its almost total reliance on iron ore. If you think the miner's might be cheap, BHP looks a better bet than Rio.

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Patrick Stevedores owner Asciano (ASX: AIO) and Dubai-based DP World are about to get some new competition on the docks at the Port of Melbourne. The corporation charged with overseeing the Port recently announced its shortlist of bidders vying to build and operate a third international container terminal with a mandate to provide capacity of at least one million containers per annum.

The bidders left in the race include Qube Holdings (ASX: QUB). Should Qube win the bidding process it will mark a major milestone for Qube's Chairman Chris Corrigan, who was the also the founder of Patrick Stevedores. The winning bidder is expected to be announced in early 2014 and the new terminal should be in operation by late 2016.

Freight and logistics operator Toll Holdings (ASX: TOL), through its subsidiary Toll Shipping, provides dedicated terminals for Bass Strait trade in the Port of Melbourne. Toll does not operate container terminals though, nor has Toll bid for a new contract at the Port to run an automotive 'pre-delivery hub'.

Toll's operations and share price has been under pressure of late. Given smaller competitor K&S Corporation (ASX: KSC) just downgraded full year earnings guidance, it is likely that the market is worried that a downgrade from Toll might be just around the corner and has discounted the stock in anticipation.

Foolish takeaway

Infrastructure assets including sea ports, airports and toll roads can all make excellent investments that provide stable, growing dividends. The proviso, of course, is that they are purchased at a reasonable price and that the assets are not loaded up with too much debt.

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Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur owns shares in Toll Holdings.

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The company (formally known as Campbell Brothers) reported NPAT up 2.2% to $227.3 million for the year to March 2013. The results are a relief for the company, especially as it sits in an industry that has been dealt the biggest blow from the most recent wave of investor expectations.

Finance group Nomura has recently cut the target price to $10.40 per share and said the company remains a buy. In the past week, ALS has rallied over 10% and some analysts expect the share price to rise because although it sits in a tough industry, it provides specialist services.

All divisions within its technical services business generated higher levels of revenue than the previous year. Approximately 42.1% of revenue for the company comes from its ALS minerals division, and despite the recent withdrawal of resources investment, along with ALS Life Sciences, it only had a minor effect on margins.

The final dividend is to be paid at 48 cents for the year, upping the companies 5.1% yield.

Although ALS's specialist services will see it survive the irrational volatility of the market, there is no doubt the company will be subject to negative investor sentiment surrounding the mining services industry. As the mining boom enters a period of contraction, management will have to do more than cut costs to help protect its precious profit.

Foolish takeaway

ALS is more diversified than other mining services companies like Ausdrill (ASX: ASL) and Monadelphous Group (ASX: MND), whose share prices have fallen 62% and 42% in the past four months respectively. ALS has said it will focus its attention on the laboratory services division where it has shown competitive advantage and a proven business model. The company hopes to open more laboratories in Europe, Asia and North America. Keep an eye on this stock, as further volatility in the market may push its share price down unreasonably.

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Motley Fool contributor Owen Raszkiewicz does have any financial interest in the mentioned companies.

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The iron ore price does however still play a big role in future earnings growth or earnings pressure of BHP and Rio. The iron ore operations of these two giants have contributed massive windfall profits to their bottom lines. For example, BHP's earnings before interest and tax margin on iron ore has been running at over 50% since about 2005, as such these windfall profits are not easily replaced. While a falling Australian dollar (AUD) does soften the blow from falling iron ore price, on BHP's numbers the AUD needs to fall by one cent for every one dollar fall in ore prices.

BRW Rich list member Andrew Forrest and his company Fortescue Metals (ASX: FMG) will be watching the price action even more closely given his company's sole exposure to iron ore. The same can be said for Atlas Iron (ASX: AGO) and Mount Gibson Iron (ASX: MGX). Unsurprisingly, Fortescue, Atlas and Mount Gibson have all lagged behind BHP, RIO and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) since September last year.

Source: Google Finance

Foolish takeaway

While the chart above shows recent underperformance, the last five years show an even bleaker return. While investors might think there is now value in the sector, Foolish investors should take an even longer-term view and consider just how long a full resource cycle can take to play out.

Think there are better investments options than speculating on the iron ore price? After some high yielding ASX shares instead? Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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In the past month alone, the Aussie dollar has dropped over 6% against its US counterpart, but Flight Centre Chief financial officer Andrew Flannery has played down its effect on outbound travel. He says the high dollar had been "generally positive" but says the biggest incentive for travellers in recent times is the cost of the airfares.

The Aussie dollar took flight back in 2009, however Flight Centre says it did not alter the split between the dometic and international tickets sold. In 2001, a similar result occurred when our local currency experienced major fluctuations.

Some of Australia's most sought after international destinations like Bali, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore have all dropped well over 20% in terms of airfare prices since 2007. The massive reductions have come as a result of increased competition from airlines such as Qantas (ASX: QAN) and Virgin Australia (ASX: VAH).

Both companies have recently formed agreements with competitors to offer cheaper deals. Yesterday, Tiger Airways and Virgin were given the nod from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for the latter's 60% acquisition of the flying tiger.

Similarly, earlier in the year Qantas formed an alliance with Emirates for international and domestic destinations. It seems a common occurance for airlines to have a finger dipped in each other's pie. Air New Zealand (ASX: AIZ) also has a 19.99% stake in Virgin as well as a codeshare arrangement.

Foolish takeaway

Flight Centre's share price has skyrocketed in recent times and perhaps the comments are just a pitch to alleviate any worried shareholders. However, the company's share price has gone up over 114% in the past 12 months alone and if it cannot bolster its recent profits, the underlying value of the company will be affected, taking its share price down with it. Similarly, shareholders in any of the airlines or companies like Webjet (ASX: WEB) may also encounter some turbulance in years to come.

The Australian Financial Review says "good quality Australian shares that have a long history of paying dividends are a real alternative to a term deposit." Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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Buru Energy (ASX:BRU) shares have slumped 25% in the last month, now trading at around $1.40, close to a 52-week low.

The former market darling controls large portion of North Western Australia's huge Canning basin.

Source: Buru Energy Presentation

The shares appear to have been marked down as traders have bailed out of many stocks regardless of fundamentals, desperate to lock in any profit for fear of it evaporating.

Up 200%, but down 50% in the last year

Buru shares have trebled since early 2011, but are down a whopping 50% over the past 12 months, making the company the second worst oil and gas sector company in the S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) over the past year.

For those investors willing to look a little further ahead, and through the volatility, at these levels Buru could be make for a interesting investment opportunity.

The company's Ungani oil field discovery is due to begin production in the first half of 2014, at a rate of 5,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd). Buru estimate this will be strongly cash flow positive when in production, generating $60m per year net cash flow to the company.

That just about justifies the market capitalisation of $380m, which includes net cash of around $45m, with the exploration upside thrown in for a song.

According to Buru, The US Energy Information Agency ("EIA") identifies the Canning Superbasin as the largest "shale" or unconventional gas potential in Australia.

It's one thing having potential, it's another thing turning that potential into profit. That's the challenge for this well known and respected management group, and the bet for game investors. Do you feel lucky?

The Australian Financial Review says "good quality Australian shares that have a long history of paying dividends are a real alternative to a term deposit." Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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Bruce Jackson does not own shares in any companies mentioned above.

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The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has ended a five-day losing streak, rising 0.2% to 4,970.7. The Australian dollar was steady against the US dollar, and may have contributed to the positive market, after sliding for several days. Looking to the sectors, Information technology was the best performer rising 1.4%, while the Gold index was the worst, losing 0.5%.

Here's why these three stocks are hot right now.

Mirabela Nickel Limited (ASX: MBN) was up 25.8%, closing at 19.5 cents. Mirabela is currently trading at less than a third of its 52-week high of 60 cents, as nickel prices have slumped. The company's main asset is the 100% owned Santa Rita nickel mine in Brazil, but production has been falling over the past three quarters, and the company is around 2,000 tonnes of nickel behind budget. With net debt of US$323 million at the end of March 2013, Mirabela looks like a risky play on nickel, and probably best left to traders.

Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) rose 7.4%, finishing at 80 cents. Gold prices rose overnight, lending support to ASX listed gold miners. Silver Lake has been heavily sold off recently, losing 64% in the past three months, as investors fretted over the future of gold. Today's rise may also have been influenced by company directors wading into the market and buying up shares. As the saying goes 'directors sell shares for multiple reasons, but there's generally only one reason why they buy'.

Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) was up 2.7% to 77.5 cents, despite the iron ore price falling to US$120.30 a tonne overnight. The company is in talks with Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) to use Fortescue's rail infrastructure to get its ore to port. Should Atlas be unable to arrange an agreement, the company could be facing the prospect of spending billions in capital expenditure to build its own railway and associated infrastructure. While it could do so in conjunction with a partner, it would likely be a major setback for the company.

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Virgin Australia Holdings (ASX: VAH) has received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), for its 60% acquisition of Tiger Airways Australia, removing one of the last conditions for the takeover.

Virgin made the announcement earlier today, but said the proposed transaction is still subject to certain conditions, and is expected to complete by mid-July. The company did not outline what those further conditions were.

As part of a multi-pronged strategy to take on Qantas Airways (ASX: QAN), Virgin plans to use Tiger to compete head to head in the budget segment against Jetstar, a Qantas subsidiary. Virgin is set to go head-to-head with Qantas, while Virgin's earlier acquisition of Skywest Airlines will target QantasLink on regional routes.

Qantas isn't taking the news lying down though, with CEO Alan Joyce today stating that its low cost carrier, Jetstar, can win any battle in the discount airfare market. In a swipe at Virgin, Mr Joyce suggested the airline was copying everything Qantas was doing, and wouldn't be surprised if a kangaroo appeared on Virgin's aircraft at some stage.

Mr Joyce's comments came as he announced an upgrade of Qantas facilities at Perth airport, and an increase in the size and number of flights catering for fly-in fly-out workers heading to remote centres. Qantas will upgrade terminals three and four, with new lounges, improved gate access, faster screening and new check-in areas. A new frequent flyer Qantas Club will also be built, as part of a $100 million investment over the past four years.

Qantas is also adding an additional Airbus A330 on flights to Sydney and Melbourne, from Perth, with Mr Joyce confident about the growth levels that can be achieved.

Foolish takeaway

It's difficult to imagine that Virgin wants to starts an airfare war with Jetstar as it tries to improve Tiger's performance, both financially and operationally. Tickets on Tiger flights are more likely to rise above their current levels, which are not sustainable.

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The Australian supermarket wars are far from over.

In the latest sally, Woolworths (ASX: WOW) has announced that, starting tomorrow, it will cut prices – up to 33% in some cases — across hundreds of items at its stores, including on MSA Australian beef, sliced and shaved ham, International Roast Coffee, Tip Top bread and Arnott's multipacks.

It is the company's "biggest ever drive on value" with customers likely to find, on average, between "40 and 50 Every Day Value price cuts in every single aisle," according to a Woolworths press release, which cited competitor Coles, owned by conglomerate Wesfarmers (ASX: WES).

"While we know that Woolworths is consistently cheaper than Coles on a comparable basket across the store, we are constantly looking for new ways to offer our customers ways to save. Looking at an average basket, Every Day Value price cuts could save Australian families more than $200 between now and Christmas, and almost $400 in a year on some of the most popular products on their shopping lists," said Tjeerd Jegen, managing director of Woolworths supermarkets.

In the most recent quarter, Woolworths sales from its supermarkets division grew 5% and sales from continuing operations grew 5.7% over the third quarter of 2012 to $14.4 billion. The company has guided to between 4% and 6% growth in net profit after tax for the full year 2013.

Woolworths shares are down about 10% since the end of April, while Wesfarmers shares have slid 5% and the S&P/ASX 200 index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has fallen a little more than 2% over the same period.

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Cabcharge Australia Limited (ASX: CAB) has seen its share price smashed, after the Victorian government announced that it was adopting most of the recommendations in a recent enquiry into the taxi industry. Cabcharge shares were changing hands at around $4.26, a 13% drop.

Among the recommended changes is the adoption of a maximum 5% service fee on card payments, from the current 10% level. Last year, Goldman Sachs had calculated that halving the fee could hit Cabcharge's earnings by 10%. Other analysts have estimated that up to 40% of the company's net profit could be at risk, although the company has ridiculed that suggestion.

Taxi related services represent 79% of Cabcharge's earnings, with an estimated 97% of cabs running Cabcharge's payment system.

Cabcharge also operates in New South Wales, in fact, it's the company's largest taxi market, and has smaller operations in South Australia and the UK. Cabcharge also operates a joint venture in the bus transport industry, which now represents 26% of the group's underlying profit.

While Victoria has adopted a lower maximum fee for processing electronic taxi payments, it's not yet known whether other states will follow suite. Cabcharge may also dispute the lowering of the fee, as the company views itself as taking on credit risk for some products used with the Cabcharge system.

The company may also face a hit with another one of the recommendations, which lowers metropolitan taxi licences, currently valued at around $350,000 to $22,000 a year. The lower price may allow more individual owners to become taxi drivers, with the option of excluding the Cabcharge payment system from their cabs.

Cabcharge chief executive, Reg Kermode, last year suggested that 5% was unsustainable, and that neither Cabcharge nor its competitors could afford to operate due to back-office costs.

The changes to the taxi industry have clearly weighed on Cabcharge's share price in the past 12 months. Shares have fallen 28% over that period, compared to the S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) rise of 16%.

Foolish takeaway

The share price plunge may have been overdone, with Cabcharge having other operations like its UK and bus businesses, as well as providing its services and systems to other states in Australia. At current prices, Cabcharge may represent an opportunity, and it's one to add to your watchlist.

In the market for more high yielding ASX shares? Get "3 Stocks for the Great Dividend Boom" in our special FREE report. Click here now to find out the names, stock symbols, and full research for our three favourite income ideas, all completely free!

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