Well isn't Arthur Sulzberger just dear. After the world's second wealthiest man — Mexican billionaire, and Friend of Bill, Carlos Slim — snapped up a 6.4 percent "passive" take in the New York Times Co., becoming the company's third-largest non-Ochs-Sulzberger shareholder, the Times chief said in his annual State Of The Times speech that he was essentially delighted to have Slim on board, that he was "aware" Slim was buying up such a large stake, and that it was a "good thing" to have him on board (those are a source's words, not Sulzberger's). Indeed it is! Because Slim just bought himself a 6.4 percent stake in shaping the coverage of his telecommunications, oil, retail, tobacco, mining, and banking and insurance businesses. Oh happy day.

Normally it's the Europeans who take to the United States on currency fueled shopping sprees, swooping into Tiffany & Co.'s Fifth Avenue store and fleecing the first floor's precious stones while letting the American commoners take the elevator to the sterling silver floor, where nothing is shiny nor impressively expensive. Now, a twist: It's the Mexicans who see the "Sale: Today Thru the Foreseeable Future" sign hanging on the United States. Mexican billionaire and telecom magnate Carlos Slim — otherwise known as the world's second richest person, and decent philanthropist — snapped up a 6.4 percent stake in the New York Times, that struggling newspaper company, making him the third-largest shareholder. Though it certainly follows Slim's investment strategy: Buy low, sell whenever the mood strikes. When Phillip Morris' stock hit a four-year low, he bought $90 million worth. And just this year alone, the NYT Co.'s stock has slid 20 percent, as vultures hover over the Sulzberger family hoping to finally wrest it out of their control. Not that taking over the joint is Slim's M.O.; his filings insist his purchase is a "passive" investment, which means he's just waiting around until Bloomberg or Murdoch buy the thing outright.