Good morning, CFOs. Fed officials offer little clarity on when rate cuts might resume; Richard Rubin and I talk tax; and Meta reports record sales.

Netflix and Intel are some of the first companies to comply with a new accounting rule that requires more details about corporate tax payments. It’s a story that I’ve been tracking for some time with my regular coverage of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which approved the new requirements.

My colleague Richard Rubin and I talked about our story, published Tuesday,  for the first installment of “Five Questions,” a quick take on some of the news of the day from CFOs, reporters or other experts answering questions from the WSJ Leadership Institute.

Here’s our take on the first companies to disclose expanded details about corporate tax payments in compliance with a new accounting rule, and what’s next.

Five Questions With CFO Journal:

What's the back story about how the story came together?

We have known for years that large companies were going to have to start reporting this information because of the new Financial Accounting Standards Board rule. So once the first handful came in, that was a good time to highlight this for readers.

Why is this story important for companies and company leaders?

Companies now have to disclose information that they didn't share before—and they may have to offer explanations beyond the disclosures.

What do you think some of the biggest potential ripple effects from these disclosures will be?

It's really in the questions that companies will get asked, either from reporters or investors. With taxes, there's often complexity and nuance behind a simple number.

What kind of responses have you heard from readers or CFOs so far?

Kristen Gray, Ernst & Young’s Americas sustainable enterprise tax and law leader, wrote on LinkedIn: “A new era of corporate tax transparency has begun.”

What do you see happening next?

Well, we have hundreds more big-company 10-Ks coming into our inboxes over the next month. And we'll be reading.

📆 Earnings

• Apple
• Blackstone
• Comcast
• Deutsche Bank
• Honeywell International
• Lockheed Martin
• Mastercard
• Nasdaq
• Royal Caribbean Group
• SAP
• Visa

With the latest inclement weather in the northeastern U.S., it feels like we’re well removed from July. Except when it comes to the Fed.

The Federal Reserve entered a new holding pattern on interest rates Wednesday and signaled little urgency to resume cuts after contentious reductions at officials’ three previous meetings. It was the first time the Fed had held rates steady since July.

The decision to hold the benchmark federal-funds rate steady in a range between 3.5% and 3.75% was approved on a 10-2 vote.

• Why Powell Won’t Say if He Is Staying on the Fed Board

📰 Other headlines

• The Painstaking Reality of Turning Trump’s Tariffs Into New U.S. Exports
• Exclusive: Google Aims Knockout Blow at Chinese Company Linked to Massive Cyber Weapon
• Firms Strike Deal for $10 Billion Shipping-Ports Venture
• Deutsche Bank Offices Searched by German Prosecutors in Money-Laundering Probe
• Breaking Down Elon Musk’s Ongoing Lawsuit Against OpenAI
• U.S. Companies Are Still Slashing Jobs to Reverse Pandemic Hiring Boom

📈 Earnings wrapup

• Meta Reports Record Sales, Massive Spending Hike on AI Buildout
• Tesla to Invest $2 Billion in Elon Musk’s xAI, Cancel Two EV Models
• Microsoft’s Earnings Surge Is Overshadowed by Data-Center Spending
• Southwest Forecasts Profit Surge as Assigned-Seating Flights Take Off
• IBM Sales Rise 12% as Customers’ Appetite for AI Grows
• Starbucks Sales Jump as Coffee Customers Return
• AT&T Sales Rise on Higher Wireless, Consumer Revenue
• VF Revenue Rises as North Face Offsets Vans Weakness

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On Holding, the Zurich-based sportswear brand, has hired Frank Sluis as its new CFO, effective May 1. Sluis most recently served as finance chief for Europe and Indonesia at food retailer Ahold Delhaize. Martin Hoffmann, who last year became sole chief executive of On Holding with the departure of co-CEO Marc Maurer while continuing to serve as chief financial officer, will cede the finance chief post to Sluis.

Progressive, the Mayfield Village, Ohio-based insurer, said its top finance executive, John Sauerland, is retiring after 35 years. Sauerland, who has been the company's chief financial officer since April 2015, will retire on July 3. Andrew Quigg, currently chief strategy officer, will succeed Sauerland as finance chief.

—Colin Kellaher contributed to today’s Ledger.

The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.

Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew.

You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.