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,...

08:53 AM EDT, 07/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer stocks were mixed premarket Wednesday, with The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) 0.2% higher and The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) marginally lower. Starbucks ( SBUX ) China has attracted offers from nearly 30 private equity firms with valuations ranging from $5 billion to $10 billion, CNBC reported,...

08:57 AM EDT, 07/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) said Wednesday it has signed an agreement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to supply its HIV prevention drug, Lenacapavir, in enough doses to reach up to two million people over three years in countries supported by the Global Fund, at no profit to...

08:54 AM EDT, 07/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Merck ( MRK ) on Wednesday agreed to acquire UK-based biopharmaceutical company Verona Pharma ( VRNA ) in a deal worth roughly $10 billion, as it looks to expand its cardio-pulmonary disease treatment portfolio. A subsidiary of Merck ( MRK ) will purchase Verona for $107 per American depositary share, with each ADS...