Business briefly

Owner, accountant of Hilton Head firm indicted

The owner and the accountant of the long-time Hilton Head Island property management firm Property Administrators Inc. have been indicted on a half-dozen federal charges after accusations that the company embezzled millions from dozens of local clients, according to The (Hilton Head) Island Packet. Don Christy, 72, and Lisa Arnold, 48, of Walterboro, were charged with five counts of wire fraud, according to charges filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office last week.

Also . . .

▪ Joe Erwin, the founder and namesake of the Erwin Penland ad agency, will be stepping down from his position as president of the Greenville-based company at the end of this year, according to The Greenville News. The resignation takes effect Dec. 31. The company will name a successor in the coming weeks. The resignation comes just after the agency laid off 30 workers and is in the midst of a massive building expansion in downtown Greenville.

▪ The costs of food, gasoline, shelter and medical care rose last month, a sign that consumer inflation may be moving up toward the Federal Reserve’s target level and keeping the Fed on track to raise short-term interest rates from record lows next month. The consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in October after falling the prior two months, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The average retail gas price rose 0.4 percent, though it remains 28 percent below last year’s level.

▪ J.C. Penney is opening at 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving, two hours earlier than last year. The department store is touting this Thanksgiving/Black Friday as “one of the biggest sales events” in its history, and it will feature thousands of door-buster deals to lure shoppers to stores early.