Financial Frauds on Payment Cards: The Role of Financial Literacy and Financial Education

The growing number of payment cards issued around the world, and the growing number of transactions generated by those cards (even thanks to the e-commerce trend) have seen an increase in the relevance of financial frauds based on the use of payment cards. Negative consequences from payment card frauds do not affect only the card users, but involve sellers, financial intermediaries, and other players in the payments system. The aims of this study are (1) to assess how financial literacy can help individuals to identify and avoid financial frauds related to the use of payment cards, and (2) to assess the effectiveness of a one-shot financial education seminar to increase the ability to identify and avoid a financial scam (“fraud literacy”). Data from a sample of college students was collected in 2019 and used to address both research questions. Results support the hypothesis that financial literacy can help financial consumers to avoid being a victim of a financial fraud, even if further analysis are required. Additional results show how financial literacy is related to financial confidence, with a risk of a potential “over-confidence” effect. Results from a diff-in-diff estimation suggest that a single seminar does not improve the ability to detect financial fraud

Lipoplatin Treatment in Lung and Breast Cancer

The introduction of cisplatin in cancer treatment represents an important achievement in the oncologic field. Many types of cancers are now treated with this drug, and in testicular cancer patients major results are reached. Since 1965, other compounds were disovered and among them carboplatin and oxaliplatin are the main Cisplatin analogues showing similar clinical efficacy with a safer toxicity profile. Lipoplatin is a new liposomal cisplatin formulation which seems to have these characteristics. Lipoplatin was shown to be effective in NSCLC both in phase 2 and phase 3 trials, with the same response rate of Cisplatin, a comparable overall survival but less toxicity. A new protocol aiming to elucidate the double capacity of Lipoplatin to act as a chemotherapeutic and angiogenetic agent in triple-negative breast cancer patients is upcoming

Phase II Study of Dehydroepiandrosterone in Androgen Receptor-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer.

LESSONS LEARNED: The androgen receptor (AR) is present in most breast cancers (BC), but its exploitation as a therapeutic target has been limited.This study explored the activity of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a precursor being transformed into androgens within BC cells, in combination with an aromatase inhibitor (to block DHEA conversion into estrogens), in a two-stage phase II study in patients with AR-positive/estrogen receptor-positive/human epidermal growth receptor 2-negative metastatic BC.Although well tolerated, only 1 of 12 patients obtained a prolonged clinical benefit, and the study was closed after its first stage for poor activity. BACKGROUND: Androgen receptors (AR) are expressed in most breast cancers, and AR-agonists have some activity in these neoplasms. We investigated the safety and activity of the androgen precursor dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in combination with an aromatase inhibitor (AI) in patients with AR-positive metastatic breast cancer (MBC). METHODS: A two-stage phase II study was conducted in two patient cohorts, one with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (resistant to AIs) and the other with triple-negative MBC. DHEA 100 mg/day was administered orally. The combination with an AI aimed to prevent the conversion of DHEA into estrogens. The main endpoint was the clinical benefit rate. The triple-negative cohort was closed early. RESULTS: Twelve patients with ER-positive MBC were enrolled. DHEA-related adverse events, reported in four patients, included grade 2 fatigue, erythema, and transaminitis, and grade 1 drowsiness and musculoskeletal pain. Clinical benefit was observed in one patient with ER-positive disease whose tumor had AR gene amplification. There was wide inter- and intra-patient variation in serum levels of DHEA and its metabolites. CONCLUSION: DHEA showed excellent safety but poor activity in MBC. Although dose and patient selection could be improved, high serum level variability may hamper further DHEA development in this setting

Prescription appropriateness of anti-diabetes drugs in elderly patients hospitalized in a clinical setting: evidence from the REPOSI Register

Diabetes is an increasing global health burden with the highest prevalence (24.0%) observed in elderly people. Older diabetic adults have a greater risk of hospitalization and several geriatric syndromes than older nondiabetic adults. For these conditions, special care is required in prescribing therapies including anti- diabetes drugs. Aim of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness and the adherence to safety recommendations in the prescriptions of glucose-lowering drugs in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes. Data for this cross-sectional study were obtained from the REgistro POliterapie-Società Italiana Medicina Interna (REPOSI) that collected clinical information on patients aged ≥ 65 years acutely admitted to Italian internal medicine and geriatric non-intensive care units (ICU) from 2010 up to 2019. Prescription appropriateness was assessed according to the 2019 AGS Beers Criteria and anti-diabetes drug data sheets.Among 5349 patients, 1624 (30.3%) had diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. At admission, 37.7% of diabetic patients received treatment with metformin, 37.3% insulin therapy, 16.4% sulfonylureas, and 11.4% glinides. Surprisingly, only 3.1% of diabetic patients were treated with new classes of anti- diabetes drugs. According to prescription criteria, at admission 15.4% of patients treated with metformin and 2.6% with sulfonylureas received inappropriately these treatments. At discharge, the inappropriateness of metformin therapy decreased (10.2%, P < 0.0001). According to Beers criteria, the inappropriate prescriptions of sulfonylureas raised to 29% both at admission and at discharge. This study shows a poor adherence to current guidelines on diabetes management in hospitalized elderly people with a high prevalence of inappropriate use of sulfonylureas according to the Beers criteria

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

How much globalization is there in the world stock markets and where is it?

Globalization, as the process of integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration and the spread of technology, has been analyzed by academic literature in different manners. Anyway a comprehensive analysis in a worldwide perspective that compares all the main stock markets' performances in a long term period misses. In this paper, the authors try to fill this gap by a correlation analysis applied to stock exchange market indexes. This methodology is implemented in order to highlight the dynamic trend of financial market globalization. The paper investigates the degree of association of weekly returns for 53 international stock exchanges from 1995 to 2010 in a year-by-year approach, trying to evaluate how the average correlation through national stock indexes changed by the time. Moreover, an analysis of single geographical areas (North America and Canada, Latin America, Asia and Oceania, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Western Europe) has been done in order to test the hypothesis that globalization follows a homogenous (or heterogeneous) path. Results suggest an upward globalization trend that is developing at an increasing growth rate. Furthermore, an analysis of single geographical areas supports the hypothesis that globalization is a heterogeneous phenomena where different cluster of countries are engaged in different manners

The assessment methodologies of financial literacy

Financial Literacy and its role in explaining consumer financial behaviors represent a pivotal topic in consumer finance. This paper analyzes the criteria required to financial literacy measures that should be taken into account the assessment of people knowledge and skills about fiannce

La governance delle borse valori europee: il caso Borsa italiana Spa

La struttura del mercato mobiliare europeo ha subito negli ultimi dieci anni profondi cambiamenti. Il processo di demutualizzazione della seconda metà degli anni novanta ha ridisegnato la natura, la struttura e la governance delle borse valori. Nei mercati anglosassoni le borse hanno abbandonato la natura di cooperative di intermediari con scopi mutualistici per adottare la forma di imprese con fini di lucro. Contemporaneamente le borse dell’Europa continentale hanno rivisto la propria natura di enti pubblici avvicinandosi anch’esse a forme societarie orientate al profitto. Gli stretti legami tra i gestori del mercato (borsa) e gli utilizzatori (intermediari) fanno delle borse valori una realtà piuttosto interessante dal punto di vista della governance. I conflitti di interesse tra chi è chiamato ad organizzare e gestire il mercato e chi vi opera sono profondi ed evidenti, nonché tipici delle customer-controlled firms. Il paper vuole analizzare le relazioni tra gli assetti proprietari e la numerosità degli organi di governance delle società di gestione dei mercati. L’ipotesi di fondo del lavoro è che società di gestione con un elevato grado di frazionamento del capitale, avendo la necessità di prendere in considerazione interessi eterogenei, dovrebbero mostrare dimensioni degli organi di governance maggiori rispetto a borse caratterizzate da un’elevata concentrazione del capitale, nelle quali la maggiore focalizzazione degli interessi consente una struttura organizzativa e decisionale più snella. Nel caso di Borsa italiana si intende ampliare la verifica entrando nel merito della composizione del consiglio di amministrazione. La presenza nel consiglio di amministrazione di esponenti rappresentativi degli stessi intermediari finanziari che si rivolgono al mercato in qualità di utilizzatori verrà utilizzata come misura per valutare la natura customer-controlled della borsa, ovvero per valutare il grado di separazione tra le società di gestione del mercato (ownership) ed i relativi utilizzatori (membership). Per identificare il peso dei diversi azionisti in termini di diritti di voto in assemblea, si utilizzeranno i dati sui detentori di partecipazioni rilevanti forniti dalle stesse borse valori. I dati sulla dimensione e sulla composizione degli organi di governance provengono dalla documentazione ufficiale delle singole borse. Nel paragrafo 1 si ripercorrono i cambiamenti conseguenti al processo di demutualizzazione di fine anni novanta. Il paragrafo 2 analizza il grado di concentrazione degli assetti proprietari delle società di gestione. Nel paragrafo 3 ci si sofferma sugli aspetti di governance, facendo particolare attenzione alla numerosità degli organi decisionali. Il paragrafo 4 approfondisce il caso di Borsa Italiana Spa, della quale vengono poste in risalto la struttura della governance, i rapporti con gli intermediari finanziari presenti in borsa ed i legami con gli altri operatori del mercato finanziario. Vengono infine svolte alcune considerazioni di sintesi