Good morning. U.S. companies from truck maker Oshkosh Corp. to consumer-goods conglomerate Newell Brands Inc. are moving away from “last-in, first-out” accounting, or LIFO, for their inventory, as inflation continues to pressure businesses' earnings.

Elevated inflation has weighed on companies’ earnings over the past two years, and economists expect it to remain above recent norms at least through this year. One lever finance executives have to combat the impact of inflation on earnings is to make an accounting-policy change: moving to “first-in, first-out” accounting, or FIFO, instead of LIFO.

Switching to FIFO can boost a company’s profitability because older inventory acquired at a lower cost is used to value the cost of goods sold on the income statement. Through FIFO, businesses can also better align their inventory accounting across global operations, as the method is allowed under International Financial Reporting Standards while LIFO isn’t.

Oshkosh made the switch late last year to FIFO for its U.S. inventory, or 80% of its total, as the Oshkosh, Wis.-based company experienced a growing disconnect in the timing of its cost of goods sold and revenue on its income statement due to rising inflation, Chief Financial Officer Michael Pack said.

Businesses have been heading toward FIFO over LIFO for years—particularly with the rise of tech companies, whose costs tend to fall over time—but such activity appears to have accelerated amid a turbulent economy. About 30 U.S. companies total in 2021 and 2022 switched their inventory accounting method to FIFO from LIFO, according to investment research firm Bedrock AI. That is up from a combined 13 companies in 2019 and 2020, when inflation was less of a concern. No companies have switched to LIFO from FIFO since 2019, Bedrock AI found.

• Earnings: Darden Restaurants Inc., FactSet Research Systems Inc. and General Mills Inc. are among the companies scheduled to report earnings today.
• The Labor Department reports the number of worker filings for unemployment benefits in the week ended March 18. Initial jobless claims fell in the prior week, showing the U.S. labor market remains strong.
• The Commerce Department reports the number of new homes sold in February, which make up about 10% of the housing market.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Wednesday said it appointed Robert Rice as the new director of the audit regulator’s division of enforcement and investigations, effective March 31.

Mr. Rice has served as special counsel for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey since last year. He previously was chief counsel to former SEC Chair Mary Jo White and an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Rice is set to succeed Mark Adler, the enforcement division’s acting director since last September, who plans to retire from the regulator, the PCAOB said.

The audit regulator, under Chair Erica Williams, has been stepping up its enforcement efforts, in contrast with the previous leadership, which faced accusations of being too cozy with the industry. In October the PCAOB announced its largest-ever fine against an individual, at $150,000.

—Mark Maurer

The Federal Reserve approved another quarter-percentage-point interest-rate increase but signaled that banking-system turmoil might end its rate-rise campaign sooner than seemed likely two weeks ago.

The decision Wednesday marked the Fed’s ninth consecutive rate increase aimed at battling inflation. It will bring its benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 4.75% and 5%, the highest level since September 2007.

• SNB, Norges Central Banks Lift Key Rates; BOE Expected to Follow Suit

• European officials rolled out proposals aimed at forcing companies to back up environmental and sustainability claims they make over consumer products with scientific evidence.
• The combined weighting of Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in the S&P 500 has risen to 13.3%, the highest level on record, while the influence of other big technology stocks has waned of late.
• Internet job-search platform Indeed said it expects to lay off about 2,200 employees, or 15% of its workforce.
• The Securities and Exchange Commission has told Coinbase Global Inc. that it plans to take enforcement action against the company, escalating its crackdown on digital-currency firms by targeting the biggest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase said.
• U.S. regulators clawed back money that actress Lindsay Lohan and boxer Jake Paul earned by promoting cryptocurrencies, continuing a campaign of making examples of celebrities who tout digital assets in violation of investor-protection laws.
• Starbucks Corp's incoming CEO has been brewing coffee at stores to prepare for his new role. Laxman Narasimhan is taking over from Howard Schultz; ‘I bring a different set of capabilities,’ he says.
• A congressional committee issued a subpoena to the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that employees of the labor body mishandled union elections at Starbucks Corp. cafes in ways that favored unionizing workers.
• Johnson & Johnson will seek the Supreme Court’s review after a federal appeals court declined to revive the company’s bid to use chapter 11 bankruptcy to freeze nearly 40,000 lawsuits linking its talc products to cancer.
• Multinational companies are pumping billions of dollars into Canada’s electric-vehicle manufacturing sector, lured by government incentives, access to raw materials and cheap renewable energy.
• Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. said it is beginning to bring back staff and resume work on preparing for its next satellite launch after halting operations last week to conserve cash as it searches for more funding.

Sabela Ojea contributed to today’s Ledger.

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