What will Michael Bloomberg do next? It's a question that's being asked with greater frequency as the mayor approaches the end of his term. First there was the rumored presidential run, then people started talking about a move to Albany, and now after Monday's hiring of Norm Pearlstine by Bloomberg L.P. there is speculation that the company is preparing for bigger things to come, namely The New York Times.

Over at Marketwatch Jon Friedman opines that

By hiring someone with such impeccable credentials and connections, the Bloomberg company is making a statement: It's poised to do something BIG.

At the moment the mayor says he's not interested, and the NYT's publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has insisted the paper is not for sale. Of course, one might recall how the Bancrofts initially expressed disinterest in Rupe's advances — it's what's known in dating parlance as playing hard to get. Anyway, with Rupert Murdoch finding himself this week with one less thing to do, Pearlstine's hiring may be just the sort of shot across the bow the Times needed someone to make in order to keep "unwanted suitors" at bay.