Business news for Fri, 28 Mar 2008 & with word robert. 8 news.

Robert Tchenguiz, the property entrepreneur facing heavy losses on stakes in retailer J Sainsbury and pub group Mitchells & Butlers, accusing the boards of both companies of failing to maximise shareholder value from their property assets

Robert Tchenguiz is used to the glare of publicity – sometimes he courts it. But at the moment he is nursing a paper loss thought to have swelled to about ?700m from his investments

As Robert Mugabe faces his stiffest electoral challenge in 28 years, the opposition, analysts and human rights groups say there is a systematic attempt to rig the election

Could Robert Mugabe be unseated? OPINION polls and anecdotal evidence suggest that Robert Mugabe would be heavily defeated if the elections on Saturday March 29th were fair, but few Zimbabweans expect the incumbent to allow himself to be beaten and stand down. In any case, an array of imponderables make it hard to predict the outcome, however fairly the poll and, more important, the count are conducted. But for the first time since Mr Mugabe won power in 1980, there is at least a chance that he will have to go. One big imponderable is whether, even if he attempts to rig the result in the first round, he will nonetheless have to submit to a run-off, which he must do if he gets less than 50% of the votes cast. If that were to happen, a second-round contest would have to be held within three weeks. All sorts of new calculations would then come into play. ...

Toyah Willcox, 49, shot to fame as a punk rock singer in the 1980s and went on to establish a TV and theatre career. She lives in Worcester with her husband, rock guitarist Robert Fripp, 61, and spoke to Mark Anstead

[Retail] "Nobody is turning around and saying these products suck," says Brand Keys' Robert Passikoff, of the company's attempt to explain away a negative heritage. "The product is fine, the issue is not wasting time with messages you know people won't believe and, to a large degree, raise issues among people who may not know or care."

Supermarket milk supplier Robert Wiseman Dairies yesterday said it had begun increasing prices in an attempt to offset "exceptional" cost rises.

Property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz placed his Laurel pubs and restaurants business into administration yesterday - then immediately bought back the bulk of the estate from the administrator.