Thursday newspaper round-up: UK rents, Investec, 21st Century Fox, Barclays

UK rents are expected to climb by 15% over the next five years, as the supply of rental accommodation dwindles while demand from tenants continues to go up, according to a survey. Rents are expected to increase by nearly 2% across the UK over the next 12 months, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). – Guardian

A shipment of soybeans worth more than $20m (£15.5m) has been bobbing aimlessly in the Pacific Ocean for a month, a casualty of the escalating trade war between China and the US. Lingering uncertainty over the cargo’s fate offered a timely reminder of the fallout from a dispute that intensified on Wednesday, as the US president, Donald Trump, unveiled a second round of tariffs on $16bn of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to respond in kind. – Guardian

South African bank Investec suffered a shareholder revolt against its decision to reappoint KPMG as its auditor, following a spate of scandals at the Big Four accountancy giant which have seen it haemorrhage clients. Just under 20pc of Investec's voting shareholders rejected the resolution to stick with KPMG as one of its auditors in South Africa. – Telegraph

21st Century Fox's entertainment assets helped push earnings past Wall Street estimates last quarter, validating a plan by Walt Disney to acquire the business. Movies such as Deadpool 2 and cable-network subscriber fees contributed to earnings of 57 cents (£44p) a share in the fiscal fourth quarter, excluding some items. Analysts estimated 54 cents a share on average for the company, which is controlled by billionaire Rupert Murdoch. – Telegraph

The Wall Street activist investor pushing Barclays to close parts of its investment bank has said that it wants to play a role in the lender’s search for a new chairman. Sherborne Investors said yesterday that it was “engaging” with Barclays on the “search process for and mandate of a new chairman” as the bank hunts for a replacement for John McFarlane, who is expected to leave at next year’s annual meeting. – The Times

Thomson Reuters is looking to make deals after reporting quarterly earnings ahead of expectations and reaffirming its 2018 forecast. The information provider agreed in January to sell a 55 per cent stake in its financial and risk unit, which provides data and news primarily to financial customers, to Blackstone, the private equity firm. It expects to use $1 billion to $3 billion of the proceeds to make acquisitions in the legal and accounting sectors. – The Times