Surging oil prices finally discovered gravity. The price of black gold has stumbled of late amidst growing indications that demand is poised to decline due to the slowing US economy as well as cutbacks on fuel subsidies in various countries, which could limit wants.

Yet even with the dip, oil prices are still at a precariously high level, hammering the bottom-line as well as share price of companies like Singapore Airlines. According to the International Air Transport Association, the global airline industry is expected to suffer a loss of US$2.3b this year.

At the same time, the US economy narrowly avoided a recession. Growing at a better-than-expected 0.9% during 1Q08 because of healthy export figures, the world’s largest economy has so far managed to expand for two consecutive quarters since the outbreak of the sub-prime calamity.

For our cover story this issue, we met up with the management of Travelite Hldgs. The Catalist-listed company has released a commendable set of FY08 results, which was boosted by its recent promising acquisitions. Notably, Travelite is moving into the sale of high-end travel bags, which should further enhance its gross margin.

Mainboard-listed HG Metal Manufacturing and Tat Hong Hldgs are another two companies that have caught our eye with their dazzling earnings performance. The former – a steel stockist – is benefiting from soaring steel prices, while the latter – a crane specialist – is riding on the construction boom in the region.

To benefit our new readers, especially those, who have just embarked on their investing journey, we have also prepared a series of articles to introduce and explain some of the commonly used financial indicators. Kickstarting the series are the concepts of return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA). Hopefully, these articles will aid you in making smarter and more rewarding investment decisions!