Cezary Podkul
ProPublica
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Cezary:
What’s a Pig Butchering Scam? Here’s How to Avoid Falling Victim to One.
Thousands have lost huge sums after being lured into fraudulent online investment schemes by seemingly attractive strangers who strike up online conversations with them. Here’s a guide to spotting the telltale signs. → Read More
Human Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims Into Cyberscamming
Tens of thousands of people from across Asia have been coerced into defrauding people in America and around the world out of millions of dollars. Those who resist face beatings, food deprivation or worse. → Read More
A Former Hacker’s Guide to Boosting Your Online Security
More stolen personal data is available online than ever before. A man who once ran a website that prosecutors called the Amazon of stolen identity information offers his tips on the best ways to protect your data. → Read More
Despite Decades of Hacking Attacks, Companies Leave Vast Amounts of Sensitive Data Unprotected
A surge in identity theft during the pandemic underscores how easy it has become to obtain people’s private data. As hackers are all too happy to explain, many of them are cashing in on it. → Read More
How to Avoid Being Scammed by Fake Job Ads
Phony job advertisements are proliferating on the internet, often as part of identity-theft schemes. Here’s how to avoid falling victim to them. → Read More
The Unemployment Insurance System Is Set to Get a Tech Makeover — but It Needs Much More, the Biden Administration Says
The Labor Department has launched an overhaul of the technology that runs the unemployment insurance system, which was overwhelmed by claims and plagued by fraud during the pandemic. But the agency says Congress must act to fix deeper problems. → Read More
How the Federal Reserve Is Increasing Wealth Inequality
The Fed’s low-interest-rate policies have stabilized the economy and turbocharged the stock market. But those who don’t own lots of stocks haven’t benefited anywhere near as much as those who do. → Read More
How to Stop Biting Your Nails—a Potential Treatment Offers Promise
Kicking the habit of nail biting—a risky practice during the Covid pandemic—could be helped by a surprising new treatment. → Read More
‘Fallen Angels’ Fall Short of Expectations
The volume of corporate bonds losing their investment-grade ratings amid the pandemic is running below analysts’ predictions. → Read More
Expected Surge of CLO Downgrades Slow to Arrive
After the pandemic shut many businesses, credit-ratings firms placed more than 2,100 bonds tied to pools of corporate loans on review for possible downgrades. The potential wave has turned out to be more of a dribble. → Read More
Fed Stimulus Is Resuscitating the High-Yield Bond Market
Issuance of U.S.-denominated high-yield bonds has already topped $44 billion in August, setting a new record for the typically slow month. → Read More
Commercial Properties’ Ability to Repay Mortgages Was Overstated, Study Finds
Many borrowers are struggling because of the coronavirus. The study showed that even during normal economic times, mortgaged properties’ net income often falls short of the amount underwritten by lenders. → Read More
Insurers put brakes on investments that make risky loans safe
After a decadelong chase for yields, US insurance firms ended up with about $158bn of CLO debt on their books, almost one-quarter of the entire US market for CLOs → Read More
The Bonds the Fed Left Behind in Coronavirus Bailout Are Struggling
The Federal Reserve will lend $2.3 trillion to support the economy, including loans to businesses and backstops for corporate borrowing. Even with that much money to spend, the Fed won’t touch some formerly hot areas of the markets. → Read More
Calpers Unwound Hedges Just Before March’s Epic Stock Selloff
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System was well prepared to cash in on a stock market selloff. Until a few months ago. → Read More
Coronavirus Makes Polish Liquor Fly Off the Shelves as Hand Sanitizer
Spirytus Rektyfikowany is 96% alcohol. That makes it tough to swallow, but people figure it’ll kill about anything → Read More
SEC’s tools to analyse market swings struggle as volatility spikes
Internal agency emails point to data delays and outages in system designed to analyse unexpected market swings → Read More
Morningstar nears settlement with US regulator over bond ratings
Company allegedly violated rules that prohibit analysts from doing marketing → Read More
A Borrower Will Be 114 When Bonds Backed by Her Student Loans Mature
Issuers have extended maturities on about $11.5 billion of outstanding bonds backed by student loans, pushing them back by as much as 54 years, to avoid downgrades as borrowers take longer to pay off debt. → Read More
SEC Urged to End Ratings Firms’ Conflicted Business Model
An advisory panel is considering whether to recommend a new business model as the agency comes under pressure to act. → Read More