Wednesday newspaper share tips: StanChart, BP

StanChart´s financials for the first quarter of 2016 suggest chief Bill Winters may have managed to staunch the bleeding, or at least that it´s not terminal, The Times´s Tempus said.

In that light, the bank´s fourth quarter loss in 2015 may have been the standard 'kitchen-sinking' excercise, with the new boss opting to clear the slate at the start of his reign.

However, he and his finance director, Andy Halford, exercised "decent judgement" in deciding that a good part of StanChart´s loans were too risky given their profitability.

Hence their decision to renogiate the terms or end the relationship with such clients, who hold $50bn of such loans.

The lender is also shedding or restructuring another slab of $50bn worth in loans, the tipster highlighted.

Undoubtedly, Winters and his team are still facing stiff challenges in the form of a slowdown in China and low prices for a raft of commodities.

Yet if StanChart can achieve further improvements in bad debts, then analysts at Cenkos believe it might be able to push its return on equity to 7.3% in 2018, which looks healthy in comparison to the wider sector.

"If Mr Winters turns out to be right, the shares are a tentative buy," Tempus said.

Shares in BP should catch up soon with those of rival Royal Dutch Shell, barring any further disasters, the Financial Times´s Lex column said.

The oil major had succeeded in cutting flab over the past six years - to the tune of 15% of its tangible assets - having been forced to pay for its liabilities arising from its Gulf of Mexico blow-up and a skid in oil prices lower.

Furthermore, a reduction in capital outlays from $17bn to $15bn meant it could now generate sufficient cash flow to cover its investment needs with the price of crude at just $55 per barrel, as opposed to $60 per barrel previously.

It also managed to turn a profit in the first quarter of 2016, versus analysts´ expectations for a loss.

Nonetheless, the stock has now underperformed for a decade; bad news for pensioners given its average 2.5% weighting in stock portfolios.

Even so, given its ability to stick to its fasting there is no fundamental justification for that under-performance - assuming no further 'whoopsies' - Lex said.