US domestic diva Martha Stewart has been sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement in New York for lying about a share sale.

Celebrity homemaker Martha Stewart will be sentenced today and learn whether she will have to trade the tastefully-tinted walls of her home for the spare cinderblocks of a prison cell.

A FEDERAL judge yesterday denied Martha Stewart’s latest request for a new trial based on allegations that a government ink expert lied on the witness stand at her first trial.

Martha Stewart could be heading for a spartan prison cell, but more people than ever want her to furnish their homes.

JURORS in the Martha Stewart trial said they felt pity for the fallen celebrity homemaker as her verdict was read, but that ultimately they were sure they had made the right decision.

The board of Martha Stewart’s company Living Omnimedia was meeting today to discuss life without the guru of domestic perfection, as shares in the company kept up the slide they began last week when she was convicted of fraud.

US “domestic goddess” Martha Stewart has been convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the US government about why she unloaded her stock in a biotech company just before the price plummeted.

MARTHA STEWART was convicted last night of obstructing justice and lying to the US government about a superbly-timed stock sale — a devastating verdict that probably means prison for the woman who epitomises meticulous homemaking and gracious living.

A New York judge threw out the most serious charge against Martha Stewart, securities fraud, before the jury was to retire to consider other verdicts.

Lawyers in the Martha Stewart trial will deliver their closing arguments early next week, and 12 jurors will begin deciding the fate of the style guru next Wednesday.

ONE of Martha Stewart’s closest friends has dealt a harsh blow to her longtime pal by testifying that the trendsetter told her she sold ImClone Systems Inc shares after learning the biotech company’s founder was dumping his stock.

A close friend of Martha Stewart has provided the last major link in a chain of evidence the US government hopes will convince jurors in New York that she lied about the home decorating magnate’s sale of ImClone Systems stock.

Martha Stewart’s lawyer believes the most serious count against the style guru - securities fraud - should be tossed out before the jury considers the case.

US investors today used the latest round of disappointing economic data as an excuse to gather profits and send stocks lower.

With an investigation looming, Martha Stewart sat down at her assistant’s computer and altered a record of a message left by her stockbroker about ImClone Systems stock, the assistant has told a New York court.

A young brokerage assistant testified that his boss ordered him to pass a secret tip to Martha Stewart that led the style guru to trigger her well-timed sale of shares.

A jury of eight women and four men was chosen today to hear the fraud trial of American’s billionaire domestic goddess Martha Stewart.

Martha Stewart’s lawyer fears that jurors at her share fraud trial might mistakenly believe the billionaire domestic goddess is charged with insider trading.

Martha Stewart, the creative force behind what was once a billion dollar empire of domestic “good things,” is due in court in New York tomorrow to face trial on charges she lied about a well-timed share sale that saved her €40,400.

In the US, shares of ImClone Systems were gaining ground in pre-market dealings this morning after the biotech firm said its early-stage cancer therapy research is yielding encouraging results.

IMCLONE SYSTEMS founder Sam Waksal was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison yesterday for an insider-trading scandal that ensnared his family and threatens US home and style guru Martha Stewart and her home decorating empire.

MARTHA Stewart is accused of deliberately trying to inflate the stock of her own company — simply by declaring her innocence.

American TV celebrity Martha Stewart, who built her fortune on giving advice on cooking and home decoration, has been charged over an insider-trading scandal that could put her behind bars.

Wall Street was puzzled by the possibility that Martha Stewart might soon face securities fraud charges for her alleged role in the ImClone insider trading scandal.

Wall Street stalled today as investors took profits from last week’s big rally and considered the possibility that the Federal Reserve might not cut interest rates after all.

Wall Street turned more positive today, with stocks rising sharply after an upbeat assessment of the economy.

Wall Street managed a sharp rebound today, rising sharply despite allegations of insider trading at ImClone and more profit warnings.

Reassuring words from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave the US stock market a lift today but the rally fizzled after an analyst lowered earnings estimates for Cisco, prompting nervous investors to collect profits.