SYDNEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country's two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines. The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia,...

* Global automakers worry China's rare-earths curb is next global supply crisis * Auto industry efforts to find alternative magnet supplies have floundered * Bottleneck has auto companies stockpiling, considering workarounds By Christina Amann, Nick Carey and Kalea Hall BERLIN/LONDON/DETROIT, June 9 (Reuters) - Frank Eckard, CEO of a German magnet maker, has been fielding a flood of calls in...

BERLIN/LONDON/DETROIT (Reuters) -Frank Eckard, CEO of a German magnet maker, has been fielding a flood of calls in recent weeks. Exasperated automakers and parts suppliers have been desperate to find alternative sources of magnets, which are in short supply due to Chinese export curbs. Some told Eckard their factories could be idled by mid-July without backup magnet supplies. The whole...

BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) - Starbucks China will lower the prices of some of its iced drinks by an average of 5 yuan ($0.70) across the country, the company announced on Monday, as competition intensifies and consumers become more cautious about spending. In a post on its Weixin social media account, the U.S. coffee chain said it would offer more...