peHUB First Read

Some links to kick off your Thursday:

* News Corp. may join Microsoft in its bid for Yahoo. MicroRupertHoo?

* At the same time, Yahoo is pursuing a partnership with AOL, and an ad deal with Google. AOHoo?

* The (further) politicization of the Fed. Seems Big Ben is spending way more time with elected folks than did his predecessor.

* The Clear Channel banks are asking for the lawsuit to be tossed, because they can’t successfully negotiate while in court. Methinks they’re missing the plaintiff’s point: We don’t need to renegotiate, because we have a deal.

* Two bankrupt Bear Stearns hedge funds are suing the parent bank.

* Another discount airline shuts down, but at least this time it’s not PE-backed.

* Boston VC to Entrepreneur: If you don’t believe in your company enough to believe it can succeed in Boston, then we don’t want you anyway.

* Study finds that middle-class is a state of mind, more than a state of bank account.