RETAILING

J. C. Penney Accused of Marking Up Jewelry Before Sales: A deceptive-pricing lawsuit against Penney charged that the nationwide retailer marks up jewelry prices before it has a sale, a contention the company denies. The lawsuit, filed by South Carolina’s attorney general, is scheduled to go to trial today in Wake County Superior Court. The state alleges that the retailer advertises phony discounts on jewelry and that the company’s regular price is an inflated, fictitious price from which, on average, every two weeks it claims large price reductions or discounts. J. C. Penney spokesman Duncan Muir said the retailer flatly denies the accusations, which apply to about 40 stores in North Carolina.