The Takeaway: Figuring Out Carlos Slim, Redux

A week after Mexican telecom billionaire Carlos Slim lent The New York Times Co. $250 million, people who get paid to think about this kind of thing still can't agree whether Slim wants to own the Times, make a few easy bucks off it, or just basked in the reflected glow of its respectability. The latest musings:

Ad Age: One thing that's straightforward is why the Times Co. took Slim's money: It allows the company to postpone asset sales until prices recover somewhat. As for fears that Slim might be plotting a takeover, says Michael Learmonth, "Observers of Mr. Slim believe it would be unlike the mogul to want to take control of the company."

NY Post: So what would be like the mogul? The tough love of an "outspoken investor," says Paul Tharp. "Two months ago, Slim told a conference in San Antonio that the US was too soft on bad management and losses. He said the solution to problem companies, particularly on big losers like auto makers, was to push them into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to wipe out overhead and contracts."

Forbes.com: Slim may regard the Times Co. as a pure business investment; if so, he'll soon find himself at odds with the company's journalists, who see themselves as serving the public interest, not just the stock holders, says Tunku Varadarajan. "Where many of them err, however, is in thinking that newspapers can somehow transcend -- or float free of -- the most basic principles of profit and bottom line. Slim is here to bring them down to earth."