Potential Increase in BOE Rate Rise Bets May -2-

1139 GMT - Shares in Pearson drop 8% after U.S. online-education company Chegg reported fewer subscription-service subscribers and forecast lower-than-expected second-quarter revenue. A significant increase since March in student interest in artificial-intelligence company OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT appeared to be affecting the rate at which Chegg was attracting new customers, Chegg said. While investors will inevitably worry about the potential implications of Chegg's announcement for Pearson as another supplier to the U.S. higher-education market, the issues for Chegg look fairly idiosyncratic, impacting demand for 'study guides' more than for underlying courseware, Citigroup analyst Thomas Singlehurst says in a note. Some of Chegg's commentary about overall enrolment recovering and greater need for assessment was fairly encouraging, he says. ([e-mail])

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MacFarlane's Recent Acquisition Drives 2023 EPS Upgrade

1118 GMT - MacFarlane Group's acquisition of Gottlieb prompts an upgrade to 2023 earnings forecast, Shore Capital analysts Robin Speakman and Akhil Patel write in a research note. The U.K. packaging company's acquisition of protective packaging distributor Gottlieb is immediately earnings boosting, and as a result Shore Capital lifts its 2023 earnings per share forecast by 1% to 11.8 pence a share. The analysts also notes that MacFarlane still retains "a strong balance sheet with firepower to fund continuing organic and acquisitive growth." Shore Capital acts as broker to MacFarlane, and as such doesn't give recommendations on the stock. Shares are up 1.4% at 108.50 pence. ([e-mail])

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05-02-23 0844ET