Financier Allen Stanford loses bid for new trial Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:42pm EDT (Reuters) - The financier Allen Stanford on Thursday lost his bid for a new trial, 16 days after being convicted for running an estimated $7 billion Ponzi scheme. District Judge David Hittner in Houston turned down Stanford's request for a new trial in a brief order, without explaining his reasons. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Dale Hudson