Axios

The job market may be in a slow-motion cooldown, but you can still get a virtual job.

State of play: Ikea is hiring employees to work at its new virtual store on gaming platform Roblox, where they can perform tasks at the Swedish Food Market and Bistro or arrange virtual showrooms.

S&P 500 company CEOs got a median raise of 12.6% in 2023, far better than their workers and the rate of inflation, AP found based on study by Equilar, an executive data firm.

Why it matters: "At half the companies in this year's pay survey, it would take the worker at the middle of the company's pay scale almost 200 years to make what their CEO did," AP writes.

Zoom in: CEOs flourished as earnings often exceeded expectations amid a better-than-expected economy.

• But critics say CEOs are raking in exorbitant compensation while workers struggle to keep pace with price increases.

The parent company of a research and breeding facility based in Virginia was fined more than $35 million on Monday in relation to the mistreatment of thousands of dogs.

Why it matters: The largest ever fine in an Animal Welfare Act case follows the 2022 mass rescue mission of about 4,000 beagles.

Netflix subscribers watched "Leave the World Behind" 121 million times in December, making it the most-viewed movie on the platform last year.

The big picture: Viewers watched 183 billion hours of content on Netflix in 2023, according to the second edition of its biannual viewership report.

Between the lines: Streamers must provide data around the performance of shows as a result of the new Writers Guild of America contract.

The leading apocalyptic thriller starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke registered more than 286 million hours of view time.

Rounding out the top five movies were:

• "Heart of Stone" (109.6 million views)
• "Leo" (96 million)
• "Nowhere" (86.2 million)
• "The Out-Laws" (83.8 million)

The intrigue: The first season of the live-action "One Piece" was viewed more than 71 million times, leading all shows on Netflix.

The next highest viewed TV programs were:

• "Dear Child" (52.5 million)
• "Who Is Erin Carter?" (50.1 million)
• "Lupin: Part 3" (49.7 million)
• "The Witcher" Season 3 (47.9 million)

What's next: New reality shows, the final seasons of shows like "The Umbrella Academy" and "Cobra Kai," and potential summer blockbusters like "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" and "Hit Man" will compete for the top spot on the next report.

The cost of most major streaming services has, on average, increased by more than 40% since launch, according to an Axios analysis of the cheapest ad-free tiers.

• Zoom in: Disney+ and Apple TV+ have had the greatest increases, with both services hiking prices more than 100% since they first launched.

Why it matters: The rising costs are forcing more consumers to consider ad-supported plans.

• Streamers are also pushing to bundle their services to retain subscribers and reduce churn.

Traffic to the Republican fundraising platform WinRed skyrocketed in the wake of Donald Trump's historic conviction last week.

• Why it matters: The data shows how much Trump's guilty verdict is helping the former president raise cash, as the Biden campaign struggles to take advantage of the situation.

Zoom in: Daily visits to WinRed's website surged 4x the day of Trump's conviction and 6x the following day, according to media measurement company Similarweb.

CNN has begun testing an expanded registration wall that requires heavy site users to create an account with a username and password to continue assessing content when they hit a certain threshold of daily articles.

• The registration gateway doesn't require payment, but it gives CNN access to first-party data that it could use to improve its ad products or eventually sell subscriptions.

Why it matters: It's the company's first big step toward building a direct-to-consumer digital audience since CNN+ was axed in 2022.

• It comes as CEO Mark Thompson has begun teasing a possible consumer subscription strategy for the company's digital products.

Unions representing newsroom staffers at New York Magazine and The Atlantic are blasting new agreements made by Vox Media and The Atlantic with OpenAI, arguing management isn't being transparent enough about what the deals will mean for staffers.

Why it matters: The statements foreshadow labor challenges ahead for news bosses looking to strike lucrative deals with AI companies.

• The union representing Business Insider staff slammed announcements made by newsroom leadership to experiment with AI.
• GMG Media's union blasted G/O Media executives last year for laying off staffers days after announcing new plans to use AI in stories.

The latest trending product from Trader Joe's has come just in time for beach season. The chain's new mini insulated tote bags, selling in stores for $3.99 each, are expected to go fast.

Why it matters: The 1.5-gallon bags, available in two colors, are already showing up on the resale market for marked-up prices.

Paramount's trio of co-CEOs laid out a transformation plan for the company Tuesday that includes exploring a joint venture or long-term strategic partnership to grow Paramount+.

Why it matters: Paramount's plans come as it nears a merger with Skydance Media and as its streaming business remains unprofitable, with analysts saying it lacks the scale necessary to compete.

Illumina on Tuesday said its board has approved plans to spin off Grail, the early cancer screening company it founded, spun off, and then reacquired for $8 billion over the objections of antitrust regulators in both the U.S. and Europe.

Why it matters: This saga is a stark warning to other companies that may seek to close deals before securing antitrust approval, via a faulty "toothpaste out of the tube" strategy.

Best-selling cookbook author and chef, Molly Baz will be the first pregnant woman to appear on a cereal box, as part of the Special K's "Special For a Reason" marketing campaign.

Why it matters: WK Kellogg is the latest company to appeal to mothers through culturally relevant branding strategies as the "she-conomy" continues to boom.

There are 40 million daily active users of Facebook in the U.S. and Canada between the ages of 18 and 29, says Tom Alison, the app's head.

Reality check: Facebook, which turned 20 this year, is being selective about how much it's choosing to reveal, but rough estimates suggest that's just 19% of its North American daily active user base.

A mainstay of 401(k) retirement plans, the employer match, mostly benefits top earners and exacerbates income inequality in the U.S., finds a new study from Vanguard.

Why it matters: The 401(k) is a linchpin of the American retirement system, but as a record number of Americans are now turning 65, worries are rising that these plans aren't adequate, particularly for lower earners.

Newsrooms typically immersed in political coverage during a presidential election year are instead focused on saving their own businesses.

Why it matters: Major restructurings, layoffs and newsroom overhauls are unusual for America's biggest news companies just months ahead of a highly anticipated presidential race.

American media companies are missing out on billions of dollars in revenue a year by neglecting to focus more on Asian American stories, according to the conclusions of three recent reports.

Why it matters: Broadcast, cable, streaming and Hollywood giants have been struggling to keep audiences consistently engaged in the current era of content production and consumption.

A federal appeals court suspended venture firm Fearless Fund's grant program for Black women business owners in a 2-1 decision on Monday.

Why it matters: The lawsuit, filed by the conservative group whose case led to affirmative action in higher education being struck down by the Supreme Court, has been closely watched as a bellwether of what could happen to efforts to close the financing racial gap.