Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- Following are forecasts for today’s economic releases as compiled by Bloomberg News.

• Housing Starts 1175k; range 1100k to 1236k (72 estimates)
• Starts -0.4% m/m; range -6.8% to 4.8% (72 estimates)
• Build Permits 1245k; range 1130k to 1356k (48 estimates)
• Permits -2.1% m/m; range -11.2% to 6.6% (48 estimates)
• "While there is room for improvement in the short run due to post-storm rebuilding, an aging population could limit the upside potential in the long run. In fact, working population growth trend has slowed to the lowest level in decades”: Bloomberg Intelligence
• In August, housing starts fell 0.8 percent to 1.180 million at an annual rate, the sixth decline since the start of the year

To contact the reporters on this story: Chris Middleton in Washington at cmiddleton2@bloomberg.net; Vincent Del Giudice in Denver at vdelgiudice@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Tanzi at atanzi@bloomberg.net Kristy Scheuble

(Bloomberg) -- Merck rises 1.25% pre-market on 3k volume after Citi analyst Andrew Baum upgraded to buy from neutral, PT $72 from $65, saying the market is undervaluing the opportunity for cancer drugs Keytruda and Lynparza.

• Says Keytruda enjoys "a healthy lead time" and MRK continues to aggressively pursue external opportunities
• Raises 2025 Keytruda ests. to $15b from $9b
• Says Lynparza has potential to exceed $8b/year; notes the market is underestimating its opportunity beyond ovarian and breast cancer
• Says MRK will continue to dominate the treatment landscape for patients with PD-L1 expression; after 2020, anticipates other novel biomarkers like TMB to increasingly displace Keytruda as a predictive biomarker, potentially benefiting Bristol-Myers
• MRK reports 3Q earnings on Oct. 27
• Shares rose 7% this year while S&P 500 Health +21%
• NOTE: Earlier, AstraZeneca, Merck Say FDA Grants Lynparza Snda Priority Review
  • Earlier, Merck’s Keytruda Saw 30-Month Overall Survival After Two Years
  • Oct. 12, Key Lung Cancer Data May Inform Pfizer M&A Motives: Guggenheim

To contact the reporter on this story: Tatiana Darie in New York at tdarie1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arie Shapira at ashapira3@bloomberg.net Steven Fromm

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