Martha Stewart's fall:

Martha Stewart, the American home life guru who has built a media empire that spans print, electronic and online media by offering a variety of home food and creative ideas for life, was convicted by a jury in a New York courtroom in Manhattan on May 5 of all four counts because she allegedly lied to investigators about a stock-market insider-trading case, and may face prison time. She may face jail time.

Shares of imclone fell sharply after the announcement. Stewart's former stockbroker, Bacanovic, 41, was indicted on charges of ****scheme, perjury, making a false document and obstruction of justice, but the jury found him not guilty of making a false document. Stewart and Bacanovic pleaded that they reached a **** understanding to sell the stock when it fell below $60.

But the federal government argued that this was a fabricated story and that the real reason Stewart sold the stock was because she learned from her broker that the chief executive of imclone was preparing to sell his holdings, among other things. imclone's chief executive later admitted that he sold his holdings based on a decision made by the Food and Drug Administration. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for insider trading.

Stewart was not convicted of insider trading, but instead accused her and her broker, Bacanovic, of lying about the trades and altering records to support a story they made up. The federal government may now force Stewart off the board of the company she founded. Stewart resigned as CEO when she was indicted, but remained on the board.

Expanded:

Martha's company is extremely diversified, running magazines, producing television programs, and selling everything from cleavers to garlic pats to pillows to bed sheets, and there's no question that this verdict is a big Threats. Because her company is so closely tied to her name, Stewart's business would be severely affected if she left, market experts said.

Retail experts say that even if Martha Stewart is no longer used as a trademark or company name, her housewares brand could be doomed. Within an hour of the court's ruling being announced, Martha Stewart Living Multimedia Inc. issued a statement.

Saying that it would immediately convene its board of directors to carefully assess the situation as well as take appropriate action," the company was confident that it could continue to be a leading brand. The New York Times noted that the company was considering actions that included renaming its magazines or even the entire company.

Observers believe that it will be difficult to continue to brand the company after the convicted Martha Stewart, and that competition among peers has become more intense since Ms. Stewart's lawsuit a year and 10 months ago.

A spokesman for wcbs, CBS's main television station, said it would pull the plug on "Martha Stewart Living" as of March 8, a spokesman said. Shares of Martha Stewart Living Multimedia closed down 23 percent after the verdict was announced.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Martha Stewart