Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Monday, October 3, 2016.
The Wall Street Journal reports that J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Chicago-based Nuveen Asset Management have made profits exceeding $110 million on purchases of $763 million in Chicago Public Schools bonds, which currently have a below-investment-grade, or junk, credit rating on nearly $7 billion issued. CPS has said it needs the money to replenish its dwindling coffers before the new school year and to build and repair facilities. Jackson Potter, staff coordinator at Chicago Teachers Union, counters that “J.P. Morgan and Nuveen are taking advantage of a distressed school district at the expense of our most vulnerable students.” [Wall Street Journal]
The Uber and Lyft effect: Cab rides down by nearly a quarter
Chicagoans took 23 percent fewer cab rides in the first half of 2016 as compared to the same period in 2015. Uber and Lyft didn’t provide DNAinfo Chicago with data on rides, but many taxi drivers blame the use of ride-sharing services for the decline. “There is no more cab business anymore,” cabdriver Arshad Kanji told the site. “We’re finished.” [DNAinfo Chicago]
