Inflation is seeping through American business, hitting companies in unexpected ways beyond higher prices for materials, shipping or wages.
It is adding to legal costs for the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, driving up the bill for auto repairs at
Allstate Corp.
, prompting people to pay less of their credit-card balances and stoking concerns of shrinking ad spending at social-media companies.
While companies have been sounding the alarm on inflation for the past year, economists were mostly playing down the rising prices as a temporary disruption caused by the reopening of the economy. Instead, inflation has persisted and recently hit its highest rate in four decades, pushing the Federal Reserve to accelerate its plan to raise interest rates.
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