Greenberg not after Tribune

Or so reports the WSJ's Sarah Ellison. Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the 81-year-old ex-chairman of American International Group Inc., obviously has this itch about newspapers. He made news today on reports that he was buying up shares of the New York Times Co. in anticipation of a possible bid. The stock jumped 7 percent on the news. But Greenberg only has 100,000 shares (out of 143 million shares outstanding) and after the bell a spokesman said there are no plans to increase his stake. You might remember rumors a couple of weeks back about Greenberg looking at Tribune, but the WSJ, citing an unnamed source, said no bid is in the offing. The very notion of the NYT being in play seems a little goofy, given that the Ochs Sulzburger family has a controlling interest through its Class B shares. Here's the Bloomberg story.