The Japanese Repo Market: Theory and Evidence

Repurchase agreement (repo) transactions are widely used as a risk-free means of borrowing or lending funds and securities. Repo transactions can be categorized into (1) general collateral (GC) repos that borrow or lend funds, and (2) special collateral (SC) repos that borrow or lend specific securities. GC repo rates are priced at a level close to the risk-free interest rate, while SC repo rates are often priced far below the GC repo rates. This paper aims to examine the pricing mechanism of the Japanese repo market from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. First, Duffie (1996) and Krishnamurthy (2001) show that (1) equilibrium in the repo market requires no-arbitrage profits from combining repo and cash bond transactions, (2) the equilibrium level of repo spreads between GC and SC repo rates is determined at the point where the supply and demand curves of the underlying bond issues intersect in the repo market, and (3) expected returns from future matched book trading are reflected in the cash prices of SC bond issues. Second, the paper empirically examines the above theoretical implications using the data of repo rates and government bond prices in Japan. Our empirical results show that, regarding the on-the- run and the cheapest-to-deliver (CTD) issues, the above no-arbitrage condition is significantly satisfied.

Prognostic Significance and Molecular Features of Signet-Ring Cell and Mucinous Components in Colorectal Carcinoma

© 2014, Society of Surgical Oncology. Background: Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) represents a group of histopathologically and molecularly heterogeneous diseases, which may contain signet-ring cell component and/or mucinous component to a varying extent under pathology assessment. However, little is known about the prognostic significance of those components, independent of various tumor molecular features. Methods: Utilizing a molecular pathological epidemiology database of 1,336 rectal and colon cancers in the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, we examined patient survival according to the proportion of signet-ring cell and mucinous components in CRCs. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute hazard ratio (HR) for mortality, adjusting for potential confounders including stage, microsatellite instability, CpG island methylator phenotype, LINE-1 methylation, and KRAS,BRAF, and PIK3CA mutations. Results: Compared to CRC without signet-ring cell component, 1–50 % signet-ring cell component was associated with multivariate CRC-specific mortality HR of 1.40 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.93], and \u3e50 % signet-ring cell component was associated with multivariate CRC-specific mortality HR of 4.53 (95 % CI 2.53–8.12) (Ptrend \u3c 0.0001). Compared to CRC without mucinous component, neither 1–50 % mucinous component (multivariate HR 1.04; 95 % CI 0.81–1.33) nor \u3e50 % mucinous component (multivariate HR 0.82; 95 % CI 0.54–1.23) was significantly associated with CRC-specific mortality (Ptrend \u3c 0.57). Conclusions: Even a minor (50 % or less) signet-ring cell component in CRC was associated with higher patient mortality, independent of various tumor molecular and other clinicopathological features. In contrast, mucinous component was not associated with mortality in CRC patients

Loss of CDH1 (E-cadherin) expression is associated with infiltrative tumour growth and lymph node metastasis

© 2016 Cancer Research UK. Background:Loss of CDH1 (E-cadherin) expression in cancer cells may promote cell migration and invasion. Therefore, we hypothesised that loss of CDH1 expression in colorectal carcinoma might be associated with aggressive features and clinical outcome.Methods:Utilising molecular pathological epidemiology database of 689 rectal and colon cancer cases in the Nurses\u27 Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, we assessed tumour CDH1 expression by immunohistochemistry. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess association of CDH1 loss with tumour growth pattern (expansile-intermediate vs infiltrative) and lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis, controlling for potential confounders including microsatellite instability, CpG island methylator phenotype, LINE-1 methylation, and PIK3CA, BRAF and KRAS mutations. Mortality according to CDH1 status was assessed using Cox proportional hazards model.Results:Loss of tumour CDH1 expression was observed in 356 cases (52%), and associated with infiltrative tumour growth pattern (odds ratio (OR), 2.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.23-3.34; P=0.006) and higher pN stage (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.23-2.43; P=0.001). Tumour CDH1 expression was not significantly associated with distant metastasis or prognosis.Conclusions:Loss of CDH1 expression in colorectal cancer is associated with infiltrative tumour growth pattern and lymph node metastasis

Loss of CDH1 (E-cadherin) expression is associated with infiltrative tumour growth and lymph node metastasis

Background: Loss of CDH1 (E-cadherin) expression in cancer cells may promote cell migration and invasion. Therefore, we hypothesised that loss of CDH1 expression in colorectal carcinoma might be associated with aggressive features and clinical outcome. Methods: Utilising molecular pathological epidemiology database of 689 rectal and colon cancer cases in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, we assessed tumour CDH1 expression by immunohistochemistry. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess association of CDH1 loss with tumour growth pattern (expansile-intermediate vs infiltrative) and lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis, controlling for potential confounders including microsatellite instability, CpG island methylator phenotype, LINE-1 methylation, and PIK3CA, BRAF and KRAS mutations. Mortality according to CDH1 status was assessed using Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Loss of tumour CDH1 expression was observed in 356 cases (52%), and associated with infiltrative tumour growth pattern (odds ratio (OR), 2.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.23–3.34; P=0.006) and higher pN stage (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.23–2.43; P=0.001). Tumour CDH1 expression was not significantly associated with distant metastasis or prognosis. Conclusions: Loss of CDH1 expression in colorectal cancer is associated with infiltrative tumour growth pattern and lymph node metastasis