Business

Two online payday lending companies linked to a professional racecar driver have agreed to pay a record $21 million to resolve charges by U.S. regulators that they engaged in deceptive practices, the Federal Trade Commission said on Friday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday backed off a ruling it made on when companies may ditch shareholder proposals, drawing praise from activists aiming to add their own directors at grocer Whole Foods Market Inc and other companies.

When U.S. authorities announced the arrest of Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht in October 2013, they made a startling claim: the online black market had seen an estimated $1.2 billion in illicit sales since its inception.