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(July 13, 2007) A Chicago jury has found Conrad Black guilty of three counts of mail fraud and one more-serious count of obstruction of justice for his conduct in the alleged misappropriation of more than $60 million from Hollinger International.

The guilty verdict on the four of 13 charges that Black was facing means he could face up to 35 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines.

Black’s legal troubles are far from over, reports suggest. His legal team intends to appeal the conviction, and the Canadian Press reports that Black will likely face fraud charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the Ontario Securities Commission.

On top of that, there are reports of a number of civil suits in the offing, including a $542 million US suit by Sun-Times Media Group, a $700 million US suit by Hollinger and a claim by Sotheby’s International Realty that Black owes $557,000 US in commission on the sale of a New York apartment.

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CSA trumpets enforcement stats

(July 13, 2007) The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released its latest joint report on enforcement activities on Friday, highlighting that over the six-month period ended March 31, 2007, regulators levied fines totalling more than $3.8 million. Some cases also involved criminal charges and resulted in prison terms.

During the six-month period, CSA members concluded 69 cases, resulting in sanction orders or settlements totalling approximately $2.4 million. In addition, courts have ordered offenders to pay more than $1.4 million in fines as a result of proceedings initiated by CSA members. Regulators also handed out three prison terms ranging from 15 months to four years.

“The purpose of this report is to inform the investing public of concrete enforcement and policing activities initiated by securities regulators across the country,” says Jean St-Gelais, chair of the CSA and president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec). “The results demonstrate the ongoing efforts by all CSA members to regulate and police our capital markets and protect investors.”

The report also documented the enforcement activities of self-regulatory organizations such as the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc.

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American consumers getting nervous: RBC

(July 13, 2007) The sunny days of summer can’t seem to lift the spirits of the American consumer, according to the RBC Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household (CASH) Index.

According to the most recent results of the CASH Index, which measured the attitudes of 1,004 Americans earlier this week. Economic attitudes weakened across the board, with consumers viewing the current economy negatively and displaying growing pessimism about the future. As a result, the overall RBC CASH Index stands at 76.1 for July 2007, more than five points below June’s 81.4 level.

“Consumer confidence fell for the second consecutive month, reaching its lowest level since last August,” says T. J. Marta, economic and fixed income strategist for RBC Capital Markets. “The drop in consumer confidence appears to be driven by new concerns about the jobs market and a weaker investment outlook due to the failure of the stock market to achieve new highs during June.”

The index is composed of four sub-indexes: RBC Current Conditions Index; RBC Expectations Index; RBC Investment Index; and RBC Jobs Index. Each of the indexes has dropped during the past month.

Job security in particular was a growing concern among Americans. In July, the RBC Job Index reached its lowest level in more than a year, dropping more than 10 points to 116.8, compared to 126.9 in June. Personal job loss experience in July increased by six points, with 34% of consumers reporting job loss in their immediate circle compared to 28% in June. In addition, there was a four percentage point increase from last month in the number of consumers who feared future job loss.

Expectations about the economy in general didn’t fare much better. The RBC Expectations Index hit its lowest level for the year, dropping nine points to 23.1, from its 32.2 level in June.

(07/13/07)