The jury in the fraud trial of media tycoon Conrad Black is due to deliver its verdict within the next hour.
The jury has been deliberating for 11 days on whether Lord Black is guilty of charges ranging from fraud to obstruction of justice.
The jury had said it was struggling to reach a verdict and was told by Judge Amy St Eve to keep trying.
The charges relate to the UK peer's tenure as chief executive of newspaper publisher Hollinger International.
Lord Black is accused of stealing $60m (£29.5m) from Hollinger's shareholders.
Canadian-born Conrad Black, 62, is on trial with three other former Hollinger directors, Jack Boultbee, 64, Peter Atkinson, 60, and Mark Kipnis, 59. They are accused of stealing the money to fund their opulent lifestyles, which in the case of Lord Black is said to have included gala parties for his wife, a private jet, and a luxury apartment in New York.
The jury's note on Tuesday said: "We have discussed and deliberated on all the evidence and are still unable to reach a unanimous verdict on one or more counts."
Asking Judge St Eve for advice, they said they had read their instructions very carefully.
Although she asked them to try again to come to agreement, she also urged them not to change their minds solely "for the purpose of returning a unanimous verdict".
The judge added that in the past she had sent juries back to continue deliberating two or three times.
Lord Black's 13 charges include 11 for fraud, one count of obstruction of justice, and one of racketeering.
Partial verdict rules
Under US criminal law, the judge cannot accept a majority verdict.
However, she can accept a partial verdict, whereby she can let the jury declare unanimous verdicts on individual counts.
Those counts on which they agree will then stand, while any charges they cannot agree on will count as a mistrial.
Any charges they cannot agree on can then go to a fresh trial if the prosecution so chooses.
Lord Black faces a possible 91-year jail sentence if found guilty of all charges.
Hollinger International used to own such newspapers as the UK's Daily Telegraph and Israel's Jerusalem Post.
The company sold both titles after the removal of Lord Black, and the name of the company has since been changed to Sun-Times News Group.
Its last remaining large newspaper is the Chicago Sun-Times.
duminică, 15 iulie 2007
Court approves ABN's LaSalle sale
ABN Amro's $21bn (£11.5bn) sale of its LaSalle unit to Bank of America was lawful, the Dutch Supreme Court says.
Some shareholders had tried to have the sale stopped on the grounds that ABN had not sought their approval first.
The ruling is good news for Barclays Bank, which made an offer for ABN dependent on LaSalle being sold.
Meanwhile a consortium led by RBS said it would go ahead with a revised offer for ABN Amro "on materially superior terms to Barclays' proposed offer".
RBS also said its new offer would "ot be conditional upon LaSalle remaining part of the ABN AMRO group".
Some ABN shareholders had been claiming to the court that the LaSalle sale was intended to block an offer from the RBS-led consortium, which also includes Santander and Fortis.
'No obligation'
Shares in ABN Amro, Barclays and RBS, the three main protagonists in Europe's largest banking tussle, all rose after the ruling was announced.
Analysts said this reflected the fact that although the judgment was positive for Barclays, it was by no means certain that it would prevail in the bid battle.
ABN has backed Barclays' 62.8bn euro ($85.3bn; £42.5bn) offer.
But Dutch group VEB, which represents small shareholders in ABN, argued LaSalle's planned sale to Bank of America effectively blocked a higher 71bn-euro bid from RBS and its partners, Spain's Santander and Belgium's Fortis, as their offer hinges on LaSalle not being sold.
The Dutch Commercial Court initially ruled in favour of the shareholders' group, preventing the LaSalle transaction.
But the advocate general, in his advice to the Supreme Court last month, disagreed and the Supreme Court upheld his view.
"The fact that the shareholders aim at selling their shares at the highest possible price involves no obligation for the board of directors of ABN Amro to obtain the shareholders' approval for the sale of LaSalle," the ruling stated.
"There should not be any unnecessary uncertainty about the carrying out of this agreement, into which the directors of ABN Amro were entitled to enter," it added.
'One battle'
Bank of America said it was "satisfied" with the ruling and would now look to complete the deal as soon as possible.
Far from admitting defeat, VEB said it believed it would ultimately succeed in forcing ABN Amro to consider the two bids on their financial merits.
"They may have won this battle but they will lose the war," said its director Peter Paul de Vries.
"I don't think the Barclays bid will be interesting for many shareholders because it is billions of euros lower than the alternative."
Analysts believe the RBS consortium could return with a fresh offer for ABN Amro, excluding the LaSalle business.
Whichever of Barclays or the RBS consortium eventually wins control of ABN, the deal will create one of the world's largest banking groups.
Q&A: What's weighing on the markets?
Stock markets and bond markets around the world are wobbling over the impact of higher interest rates. But why are financial markets so rattled?
What is happening to interest rates?
The last few years have seen very low interest rates around the world.
Central banks have kept short-term interest rates low as inflation seemed contained and growth was modest, especially in Europe and Japan.
And the bond markets, which set long-term interest rates, have also kept long-term rates - which normally are higher because of worries about future inflation - near the same low levels.
This has allowed companies and individuals to borrow more money than usual.
But now the era of low rates may be coming to an end.
Central banks around the world are raising rates, worried about growing inflationary pressures.
And bond markets have fallen sharply, raising the cost of long-term borrowing, as investors feel that risks have been under-priced.
What has been the effect of low interest rates on markets?
Low interest rates have helped to fuel a stock market takeover boom in the last few years.
Private equity firms found that they could borrow money cheaply on capital markets in order to buy up under-valued companies and take them private.
They funded such purchases by loading up the companies with debt.
More than a third of the record $1 trillion (£500bn) in takeover activity this year has been funded by private equity.
And cheap rates also allowed speculation in currency markets as investors borrowed in currencies with low interest rates, such as the yen, in order to buy those with higher rates.
Banks and other financial institutions have been able to make large profits by taking in share in these activities.
What was the effect of low interest rates on consumers?
Low interest rates have helped to fuel a consumer boom in the US and the UK, with consumers loading themselves up with debt in order to continue spending.
Low interest rates also contributed strongly to the house price boom, with house prices tripling in the UK and doubling in the US in the past five years.
And in the US, the low rates encouraged firms to sell mortgages to people with low credit ratings who might not normally have been able to get a loan, the so-called "sub-prime" mortgage market.
Now consumer debt levels are near all-time highs.
How will rising rates affect financial markets?
Rising interest rates could dampen down stock markets for several reasons.
First, the takeover boom fuelled by private equity could come unstuck.
The higher cost of borrowing is already taking its toll, with some deals being withdrawn and others refinanced.
Secondly, shares in many of the big banks could fall.
Many have bought up bundles of debt that include many sub-prime mortgages.
Some of the biggest US investment firms, such as Bear Stearns, have had to bail out these funds when they threatened to go belly-up.
What are the wider risks?
The world's banking regulators are worried about "contagion", where a problem in one part of the banking system can spread rapidly to other sectors.
Since many banks have taken a share in these potentially bad debts (through the use of "collaterised debt obligations"), a collapse in their value could affect the banking sector as a whole.
And with the rise of globalisation, problems in one country, such as the US, can spread rapidly around the globe.
Regulators are concerned that the complexity of the financial instruments used means that no one can accurately measure the risk.
How could consumers be affected?
Rising interest rates could have both direct and indirect effects on consumers.
Higher mortgage and credit cards costs could slow down economic growth and lead to more housing defaults.
A slowdown in stock and bond markets, and a collapse in the housing market, could also affect spending more generally if consumers feel less wealthy, and could also reduce the value of their pensions.
A bigger threat could emerge if the banking sector comes under severe pressure, which could lead to a general collapse of confidence.
This - although unlikely - could be much more serious, and cause a severe recession as firms and individuals found it very difficult to raise cash or borrow for investment.
What has caused the changes?
Markets seem to have suddenly revised their general view of risk.
What has been unusual in recent years has been that the cost of lending money to the US government - through Treasury bills - has been much the same as lending to a dodgy company or a rapidly developing (but unstable) country, or giving a mortgage to an individual who had a poor credit record.
Now lenders that have woken up to the risky nature of some of their lending.
So we can expect that it will become harder to get funding for risky investments - which could affect everything from growth in developing countries to venture capital for technology investments.
What is happening to interest rates?
The last few years have seen very low interest rates around the world.
Central banks have kept short-term interest rates low as inflation seemed contained and growth was modest, especially in Europe and Japan.
And the bond markets, which set long-term interest rates, have also kept long-term rates - which normally are higher because of worries about future inflation - near the same low levels.
This has allowed companies and individuals to borrow more money than usual.
But now the era of low rates may be coming to an end.
Central banks around the world are raising rates, worried about growing inflationary pressures.
And bond markets have fallen sharply, raising the cost of long-term borrowing, as investors feel that risks have been under-priced.
What has been the effect of low interest rates on markets?
Low interest rates have helped to fuel a stock market takeover boom in the last few years.
Private equity firms found that they could borrow money cheaply on capital markets in order to buy up under-valued companies and take them private.
They funded such purchases by loading up the companies with debt.
More than a third of the record $1 trillion (£500bn) in takeover activity this year has been funded by private equity.
And cheap rates also allowed speculation in currency markets as investors borrowed in currencies with low interest rates, such as the yen, in order to buy those with higher rates.
Banks and other financial institutions have been able to make large profits by taking in share in these activities.
What was the effect of low interest rates on consumers?
Low interest rates have helped to fuel a consumer boom in the US and the UK, with consumers loading themselves up with debt in order to continue spending.
Low interest rates also contributed strongly to the house price boom, with house prices tripling in the UK and doubling in the US in the past five years.
And in the US, the low rates encouraged firms to sell mortgages to people with low credit ratings who might not normally have been able to get a loan, the so-called "sub-prime" mortgage market.
Now consumer debt levels are near all-time highs.
How will rising rates affect financial markets?
Rising interest rates could dampen down stock markets for several reasons.
First, the takeover boom fuelled by private equity could come unstuck.
The higher cost of borrowing is already taking its toll, with some deals being withdrawn and others refinanced.
Secondly, shares in many of the big banks could fall.
Many have bought up bundles of debt that include many sub-prime mortgages.
Some of the biggest US investment firms, such as Bear Stearns, have had to bail out these funds when they threatened to go belly-up.
What are the wider risks?
The world's banking regulators are worried about "contagion", where a problem in one part of the banking system can spread rapidly to other sectors.
Since many banks have taken a share in these potentially bad debts (through the use of "collaterised debt obligations"), a collapse in their value could affect the banking sector as a whole.
And with the rise of globalisation, problems in one country, such as the US, can spread rapidly around the globe.
Regulators are concerned that the complexity of the financial instruments used means that no one can accurately measure the risk.
How could consumers be affected?
Rising interest rates could have both direct and indirect effects on consumers.
Higher mortgage and credit cards costs could slow down economic growth and lead to more housing defaults.
A slowdown in stock and bond markets, and a collapse in the housing market, could also affect spending more generally if consumers feel less wealthy, and could also reduce the value of their pensions.
A bigger threat could emerge if the banking sector comes under severe pressure, which could lead to a general collapse of confidence.
This - although unlikely - could be much more serious, and cause a severe recession as firms and individuals found it very difficult to raise cash or borrow for investment.
What has caused the changes?
Markets seem to have suddenly revised their general view of risk.
What has been unusual in recent years has been that the cost of lending money to the US government - through Treasury bills - has been much the same as lending to a dodgy company or a rapidly developing (but unstable) country, or giving a mortgage to an individual who had a poor credit record.
Now lenders that have woken up to the risky nature of some of their lending.
So we can expect that it will become harder to get funding for risky investments - which could affect everything from growth in developing countries to venture capital for technology investments.
Vigilance urged over Tesco threat
Police have urged shoppers to be "vigilant at all times" after threats forced 14 Tesco stores to shut.
Police closed the shops across the UK on Saturday afternoon but they reopened for normal trading on Sunday.
Hertfordshire Police, which is leading the investigation, said each store had been searched and given the all-clear.
"There is still no reason to believe that the incidents are linked to extremism of any kind," the constabulary added.
One line of inquiry is of a possible financial motive behind the threats.
The supermarket giant is understood to have lost millions of pounds in sales as the 14 stores were forced to shut.
Hertfordshire Police said the stores were closed on Saturday as a precaution and no-one had been hurt.
Tesco is continuing to work closely with police, it added.
'Go home'
One store in Barnes, south west London, reopened on Saturday evening.
Tesco stores were closed in Port Talbot, south Wales, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, and Market Harborough and Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire.
Other branches shut down were in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; Hucknall, Notts; Hereford and Ledbury, both in Herefordshire; and Barnes, south west London. And some Scottish branches of the supermarket were also closed in East Renfrewshire and Fife.
Other stores were closed in regions covered by the Lancashire and Humberside police forces.
Darren, an employee from the Ashby de la Zouch store, said staff were told to evacuate the shop.
"We were allowed to go back in to get our belongings," he said. "We had to be as quick as we possibly could.
"We were informed briefly that the store was going to be closed for the rest of the day and we could go home straight away."
Martin Jacklin was shopping in a Tesco store in Hucknall, Notts, when shoppers were told to take to vacate the premises.
He said: "Me, the wife and the children were in there, basically just doing a normal shop and it came over the tannoy that we were asked to leave, basically, go to the cashier, pay for your groceries and then leave.
A spokeswoman from Hertfordshire Police said the force was leading the nationwide "criminal investigation" because the retailer has its headquarters in the county.
Police closed the shops across the UK on Saturday afternoon but they reopened for normal trading on Sunday.
Hertfordshire Police, which is leading the investigation, said each store had been searched and given the all-clear.
"There is still no reason to believe that the incidents are linked to extremism of any kind," the constabulary added.
One line of inquiry is of a possible financial motive behind the threats.
The supermarket giant is understood to have lost millions of pounds in sales as the 14 stores were forced to shut.
Hertfordshire Police said the stores were closed on Saturday as a precaution and no-one had been hurt.
Tesco is continuing to work closely with police, it added.
'Go home'
One store in Barnes, south west London, reopened on Saturday evening.
Tesco stores were closed in Port Talbot, south Wales, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, and Market Harborough and Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire.
Other branches shut down were in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; Hucknall, Notts; Hereford and Ledbury, both in Herefordshire; and Barnes, south west London. And some Scottish branches of the supermarket were also closed in East Renfrewshire and Fife.
Other stores were closed in regions covered by the Lancashire and Humberside police forces.
Darren, an employee from the Ashby de la Zouch store, said staff were told to evacuate the shop.
"We were allowed to go back in to get our belongings," he said. "We had to be as quick as we possibly could.
"We were informed briefly that the store was going to be closed for the rest of the day and we could go home straight away."
Martin Jacklin was shopping in a Tesco store in Hucknall, Notts, when shoppers were told to take to vacate the premises.
He said: "Me, the wife and the children were in there, basically just doing a normal shop and it came over the tannoy that we were asked to leave, basically, go to the cashier, pay for your groceries and then leave.
A spokeswoman from Hertfordshire Police said the force was leading the nationwide "criminal investigation" because the retailer has its headquarters in the county.
Profit warnings at five-year high
Profit warnings issued by UK-listed firms are at their highest level since the low point of the technology-led stock market crash in 2001.
In the first half of 2007, 191 companies cut earnings forecasts, 13% more than in the same period in 2006, research by Ernst & Young has shown.
A shortfall in sales was the most often quoted reason for warnings, suggesting a downturn in the UK economy.
Software and support services firms issued the most earnings downgrades.
More than 230 profit warnings were issued at the beginning of 2001 at a time when the UK stock market had almost halved in value since its exuberant peak in the final days of the dotcom boom.
Keith McGregor, corporate restructuring partner at Ernst & Young takes the view we are a long way from the economic climate of that time.
But he cautioned that the high number of profit warnings "are a reminder that segments of UK plc are struggling" in a changing environment of rising interest rates and more expensive borrowing costs.
Retail casualties
Worst affected were software firms, with 14 out of 171 - 8% - cutting earnings expectations, followed by support services, where a fifth have reduced earnings expectations for the year over the last 12 months.
General retailers remain under pressure, reflected in that twice as many issued profit downgrades in the second quarter of this year as the same period last year.
"The combination of higher interest rates, rising mortgage payments and household bills has left consumers with the smallest proportion of discretionary income for five years," said Andrew Wollaston, also a partner at Ernst & Young.
"The decline in consumer spending is marked and has serious ramifications for retailers, especially those selling big-ticket or discretionary items."
Recent retail casualties include music retailer Fopp and grocery store Kwik Save, but even high street giants Tesco and Marks and Spencer have recently reported tougher trading conditions.
Changing seasonal patterns
The clothes industry was also hit by consumers tightening their purse strings, with more than half the companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange issuing profit warnings in the last 12 months - four in the second quarter of this year.
They are also likely to suffer from June's wet weather, an extension of the changing seasonal patterns of recent years, combined with low-cost imports and increasing overheads that are impossible to pass on to shoppers in a highly competitive trading environment, according to Ernst & Young.
The accountancy firm predicts that middle market chains will suffer the worst as consumers seek cheap supermarket clothing or trade up and spend their money on more up-market labels.
As for the wider economy, the study concluded that the UK could no longer rely on the combination of the last few years of fast growth, low inflation and low interest rates for economic growth.
It said it was difficult to predict the outcome of the changing economic environment, but cautioned: "Tighter credit conditions will stretch companies and consumers. The assumption of 'risk-free' lending will have to change."
In the first half of 2007, 191 companies cut earnings forecasts, 13% more than in the same period in 2006, research by Ernst & Young has shown.
A shortfall in sales was the most often quoted reason for warnings, suggesting a downturn in the UK economy.
Software and support services firms issued the most earnings downgrades.
More than 230 profit warnings were issued at the beginning of 2001 at a time when the UK stock market had almost halved in value since its exuberant peak in the final days of the dotcom boom.
Keith McGregor, corporate restructuring partner at Ernst & Young takes the view we are a long way from the economic climate of that time.
But he cautioned that the high number of profit warnings "are a reminder that segments of UK plc are struggling" in a changing environment of rising interest rates and more expensive borrowing costs.
Retail casualties
Worst affected were software firms, with 14 out of 171 - 8% - cutting earnings expectations, followed by support services, where a fifth have reduced earnings expectations for the year over the last 12 months.
General retailers remain under pressure, reflected in that twice as many issued profit downgrades in the second quarter of this year as the same period last year.
"The combination of higher interest rates, rising mortgage payments and household bills has left consumers with the smallest proportion of discretionary income for five years," said Andrew Wollaston, also a partner at Ernst & Young.
"The decline in consumer spending is marked and has serious ramifications for retailers, especially those selling big-ticket or discretionary items."
Recent retail casualties include music retailer Fopp and grocery store Kwik Save, but even high street giants Tesco and Marks and Spencer have recently reported tougher trading conditions.
Changing seasonal patterns
The clothes industry was also hit by consumers tightening their purse strings, with more than half the companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange issuing profit warnings in the last 12 months - four in the second quarter of this year.
They are also likely to suffer from June's wet weather, an extension of the changing seasonal patterns of recent years, combined with low-cost imports and increasing overheads that are impossible to pass on to shoppers in a highly competitive trading environment, according to Ernst & Young.
The accountancy firm predicts that middle market chains will suffer the worst as consumers seek cheap supermarket clothing or trade up and spend their money on more up-market labels.
As for the wider economy, the study concluded that the UK could no longer rely on the combination of the last few years of fast growth, low inflation and low interest rates for economic growth.
It said it was difficult to predict the outcome of the changing economic environment, but cautioned: "Tighter credit conditions will stretch companies and consumers. The assumption of 'risk-free' lending will have to change."
Disgraced mogul Black 'to appeal'
Disgraced media tycoon Conrad Black will appeal against his convictions for defrauding millions of dollars and obstructing justice, his lawyer says.
Former Daily Telegraph owner Black, 62, faces up to 35 years in jail after a three-month trial in Chicago.
But his lawyer, Edward Greenspan, said he was confident there were "viable legal issues" to appeal against.
The verdicts cap a remarkable fall from grace for Black, once one of the UK's most influential media figures.
Canadian-born Black, who was allowed to remain free on a $21m (£10.5m) bond, was found guilty on three charges of fraud and one of obstructing justice.
Juror Tina Kadisak told the Chicago Tribune newspaper the jury's decision was based on the accumulation of evidence presented over 14 weeks.
There had been no "smoking gun", Ms Kadisak said, but a video showing Black removing boxes of documents from Hollinger's Toronto offices in violation of a judge's order had been important. The jury cleared him of eight further fraud counts and one charge of racketeering.
"There wasn't enough evidence there. There just really wasn't," Ms Kadisak told the Tribune.
Judge Amy St Eve adjourned Black's bail proceedings until Thursday to allow his defence team to consult Canadian lawyers.
Black, who gave up his Canadian citizenship to sit in the UK's House of Lords, is due to be sentenced on 30 November.
Mr Greenspan said: "We came here to face 13 counts. Conrad Black was acquitted of all the central charges. They have been dismissed.
"We believe, based on the conviction of the charges here, that the sentences for this type of offence are far less than what the government suggested."
'Public interest'
The jury took 12 days to reach a verdict, and prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said he was "gratified" by their decision. "We think the verdict vindicates the serious public interest in making sure that when insiders in a corporation deal with money entrusted to them by the shareholders, that they not engage in self-dealing," he said.
Former colleagues of Black, who was boss of the global publishing group Hollinger International, said he would find prison extremely difficult.
Dominic Lawson, former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, told the BBC: "He is, as was made clear during the trial, used to a very luxurious life.
"On the other hand, you will have noticed that in the period running up to the trial he managed to write and publish a 1,000-page biography of Richard Nixon.
"So he's clearly someone who can write and work and think under extreme psychological pressure."
Black's biographer, Peter C Newman, said the tycoon would struggle to come to terms with his guilt.
"He can't understand why he didn't get away with it and why the court has done what it has done," he told the AP news agency.
Legal experts were doubtful about Black's chances of a successful appeal.
Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago lawyer who was following the trial, said Black could be thankful he was not convicted on all counts.
"Certainly there are a whole bunch of appealable issues, but it's unlikely that he'll be successful," he said.
Joshua Rozenberg, legal editor of the Daily Telegraph, said that although he had been cleared on several charges, the convictions for fraud were damning.
"It only takes one fraud charge and the man is disgraced and finished," he said.
"He is clearly facing a lengthy prison sentence."
Shareholders' money
Three of Black's associates - Jack Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis - were also found guilty of fraud.
The allegations focused on Hollinger's strategy of selling off small community papers in the US and Canada.
In return for promises that Hollinger would not return to compete with the new owners, Black and other executives pocketed $6m (£3m) in payments which should have gone to shareholders.
Black was also convicted of obstruction of justice after he was caught on film taking 13 boxes of documents from his Toronto office in defiance of a court order.
Hollinger's newspaper empire once spanned the globe, including titles such as the National Post of Canada and the Jerusalem Post.
Former Daily Telegraph owner Black, 62, faces up to 35 years in jail after a three-month trial in Chicago.
But his lawyer, Edward Greenspan, said he was confident there were "viable legal issues" to appeal against.
The verdicts cap a remarkable fall from grace for Black, once one of the UK's most influential media figures.
Canadian-born Black, who was allowed to remain free on a $21m (£10.5m) bond, was found guilty on three charges of fraud and one of obstructing justice.
Juror Tina Kadisak told the Chicago Tribune newspaper the jury's decision was based on the accumulation of evidence presented over 14 weeks.
There had been no "smoking gun", Ms Kadisak said, but a video showing Black removing boxes of documents from Hollinger's Toronto offices in violation of a judge's order had been important. The jury cleared him of eight further fraud counts and one charge of racketeering.
"There wasn't enough evidence there. There just really wasn't," Ms Kadisak told the Tribune.
Judge Amy St Eve adjourned Black's bail proceedings until Thursday to allow his defence team to consult Canadian lawyers.
Black, who gave up his Canadian citizenship to sit in the UK's House of Lords, is due to be sentenced on 30 November.
Mr Greenspan said: "We came here to face 13 counts. Conrad Black was acquitted of all the central charges. They have been dismissed.
"We believe, based on the conviction of the charges here, that the sentences for this type of offence are far less than what the government suggested."
'Public interest'
The jury took 12 days to reach a verdict, and prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said he was "gratified" by their decision. "We think the verdict vindicates the serious public interest in making sure that when insiders in a corporation deal with money entrusted to them by the shareholders, that they not engage in self-dealing," he said.
Former colleagues of Black, who was boss of the global publishing group Hollinger International, said he would find prison extremely difficult.
Dominic Lawson, former editor of the Sunday Telegraph, told the BBC: "He is, as was made clear during the trial, used to a very luxurious life.
"On the other hand, you will have noticed that in the period running up to the trial he managed to write and publish a 1,000-page biography of Richard Nixon.
"So he's clearly someone who can write and work and think under extreme psychological pressure."
Black's biographer, Peter C Newman, said the tycoon would struggle to come to terms with his guilt.
"He can't understand why he didn't get away with it and why the court has done what it has done," he told the AP news agency.
Legal experts were doubtful about Black's chances of a successful appeal.
Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago lawyer who was following the trial, said Black could be thankful he was not convicted on all counts.
"Certainly there are a whole bunch of appealable issues, but it's unlikely that he'll be successful," he said.
Joshua Rozenberg, legal editor of the Daily Telegraph, said that although he had been cleared on several charges, the convictions for fraud were damning.
"It only takes one fraud charge and the man is disgraced and finished," he said.
"He is clearly facing a lengthy prison sentence."
Shareholders' money
Three of Black's associates - Jack Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis - were also found guilty of fraud.
The allegations focused on Hollinger's strategy of selling off small community papers in the US and Canada.
In return for promises that Hollinger would not return to compete with the new owners, Black and other executives pocketed $6m (£3m) in payments which should have gone to shareholders.
Black was also convicted of obstruction of justice after he was caught on film taking 13 boxes of documents from his Toronto office in defiance of a court order.
Hollinger's newspaper empire once spanned the globe, including titles such as the National Post of Canada and the Jerusalem Post.
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