Guilty verdict costs Martha £86m

AS if things could not get any worse for Martha Stewart. America's home design doyenne lost $160m (£86m) when her company's value plunged after she was found guilty of lying about a share sale.

Stewart, 62, faces 20 years in prison and a $1m fine after the New York jury's verdict. She was found guilty of obstructing justice and lying to investigators about whether she knew that her friend Sam Waksal, head of drugmaker ImClone Systems, was dumping his shares because regulators had withheld approval for a key cancer drug.

Friday's verdict sparked a run on her company's shares, which fell by 40%. Earlier, they had soared on hopes she would be acquitted. Her $490m stake before the verdict fell to $330m.

Ironically, the court case was over a relatively minor $50,000 investment.

Stewart, who flinched when the verdicts were read, issued a statement saying that she would appeal. 'I have done nothing wrong,' she said.

Sentencing is scheduled for 17 June and legal experts said they expected a minimum sentence of 12 months in prison.