Yesterday, rumors that U.K.-based miner Anglo-American may bid for U.S.-based coal-producer Walter Energy (WLT), spurred by The Times of London newspaper, resulted in a 21% jump in WLT shares.

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He studied law for a year at Harvard in the 1950s so he could go on to cover the Supreme Court for the Times, and served as chief of the newspaper's London bureau from 1965 to 1972.

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Nisenholtz also took a dig at another Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, the Times of London, which has seen traffic drop precipitously since it went behind a restrictive paywall last July (although News Corp. says the move is only a few months away from paying off financially).

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Thomson's historical connections to the British newspaper establishment--it once owned the Times of London--and reputation for hands-off stewardship will no doubt have helped Thomson in negotiations.

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