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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jasper is a marketing platform that provides AI-driven strategies to its clients.</li><li>The company is using emerging tech to target businesses interested in AI-based marketing products.</li></ul>For "CXO AI Playbook," Business Insider takes a look at mini case studies about AI adoption across industries, company sizes, and technology DNA. We've asked each of the featured companies to tell us about the problems they're trying to solve with AI, who's making these decisions internally, and their vision for using AI in the future.Jasper is an artificial-intelligence marketing platform founded in 2021. The company is fully remote, with 230 employees based in the US, Europe, and Australia. Jasper provides content strategy, integrated marketing campaigns, and public relations to companies including Prudential, Ulta Beauty, Morningstar, and iHeartMedia.<h2 id="15303c4e-ff18-41d1-b714-727cc90ea9f0">Situation analysis: What problem was the company trying to solve?</h2>Jasper has focused on helping clients automate their copywriting using their own brand voice for materials such as blogs, sales <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goblin-tools-artificial-intelligence-review-ai-for-emails-2023-12">emails</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/strategies-to-manage-grow-small-business-social-media-accounts-2021-3">social-media posts</a>. Loreal Lynch, Jasper's chief marketing officer, said the company also offered a self-service AI writing assistant.But as free generative-AI tools like ChatGPT became widely available, Jasper's services evolved. The company started by building products with AI to help clients improve their overall marketing programs. Then Jasper used AI to build a sales pipeline to target companies interested in its AI-based marketing products.Lynch said the goal was to engage prospective clients with "a very personalized campaign where we could automate the creation of a personalized email, a personalized web experience, and a landing page."<div type="image" title="Headshot of Loreal Lynch" height="800" width="800" msid="115425901" hostid="261" sizebytes="26922"></div><h2 id="e69ced26-78c1-420d-843a-4a326679582c">Key staff and partners</h2>Tom Newton, the company's vice president of revenue marketing, said Jasper's marketing team developed the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marketing-industry-using-ai-save-time-money-boost-productivity-study-2023-6">AI-powered account-based marketing workflow</a>. This program could target companies with tailored <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-use-ai-for-content-creation-digital-marketing">content</a> in the hope of turning them into clients. The company's design and web teams were also involved in its development.<h2 id="6a422697-1d8b-4827-b9da-21e5f360090a">AI in action</h2>Lynch said Jasper used its AI-driven workflow to perform several functions in order to help attract business.First, the program scraped the websites of enterprise companies that Jasper hoped to sign up as clients and gathered information such as company details, brand voice, and email addresses. Newton told Business Insider that this approach identified 2,000 email accounts for prospective clients to target.Then, using the details collected from the websites, Jasper's AI ABM workflow created <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-artificial-intelligence-is-used-in-marketing-strategy-2024-5">a mock landing page</a> for each company.<div type="image" title="Screenshot of Jasper's mock landing page for Kroger, with an image of two cups and a bowl filled with oranges, apples, and cinnamon sticks on the right side." height="1572" width="2880" msid="115425899" hostid="261" sizebytes="179376"></div>Newton said the AI program created and sent a personalized email to each of these companies this year. The email included a link to the sample landing page and a message advertising Jasper's services. The goal was to showcase Jasper's tools to prospective clients.Jasper's AI tool followed up with two additional emails per company.With AI, Jasper generated emails and sample web content in a fraction of the time it would take traditional marketing teams. Lynch said the campaign also helped expand the company's sales efforts.<h2 id="3e5670ff-c4d4-49f9-b8f9-a4cf1710383c">Did it work, and how did leaders know?</h2>Newton told BI that Jasper acquired 12 customers using the AI ABM workflow.Additionally, Jasper said that based on the hours invested in developing the workflow compared with the revenue generated, the initial campaign achieved a return on investment of 20 times for the company. Newton also said its <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-email-inbox-revolution-chatgpt-google-openai-shortwave-productivity-tools-2023-3">AI-generated emails</a> performed significantly better than traditional email marketing, achieving 2.9 times the number of opens, 11 times the number of clicks, and four times the number of responses."It's a level of impact that's kind of unreal," Newton said. "Not only can humans not realistically build this many customized experiences at scale, but also we're driving outsized impact on revenue and moving the needle as a business with this tool."<div type="image" title="Headshot of Tom Newton" height="4032" width="3024" msid="115425902" hostid="261" sizebytes="519508"></div><h2 id="41ef074a-a234-4675-8f7a-cd8fc681bc04">What's next?</h2>Lynch said the ABM workflow is now part of Jasper's internal process to attract customers and generate revenue. The company is also offering it to its customers as a service designed to boost their own businesses."Something like this can be really transformational for an enterprise marketing team," she said.Jasper continues to expand its AI services. It recently launched an AI image suite to help customers <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-platform-runway-lets-users-transform-images-videos-with-words-2023-5">edit images at scale</a>, such as by changing colors or adding graphics for holiday marketing campaigns, Lynch said.The company is also working on using AI to automate and scale content tailored around keywords to help customers improve their search-engine rankings.

One marketing firm is merging AI and account-based marketing to attract new businesses. It's already achieved a 20x ROI.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elon Musk says a leaderboard of "dumb" government spending will expose waste — and he wants your two cents.</li><li>Experts say the board "gamifies" the conversation — and it's likely going to get a lot of attention.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> wants to gamify the act of slashing government spending — and experts said it's a savvy strategy to get people to pay attention to a dry subject.The Tesla CEO said this week that he plans to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doge-leaderboard-federal-government-spending-trump-2024-11">post a public "leaderboard</a> for the most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars.""This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining," Musk posted, along with a promise to let the public weigh in on specific potential cuts.Musk would create the leaderboard as part of a new position in President-elect Donald Trump's administration: head of a new "Department of Government Efficiency," or <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-doge-government-efficiency-what-us-spends-2024-11">DOGE, which would be charged with cutting federal spending</a>.Musk said all the activities of DOGE — which he will lead alongside <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-elon-musk-vivek-ramaswamy-department-government-efficiency-doge-2">businessman Vivek Ramaswamy</a>, and which is named after a Musk-linked cryptocurrency — would be published online in the name of transparency.While the effectiveness of Musk's leaderboard remains to be seen, experts told Business Insider that it revealed his marketing savvy — even if it could also encourage "gotcha" moments that need more context.The board promises entertainment, competition, and interactivity marketed to a group with skin in the game: the American public with an eye to their tax dollars.And it would turn an often wonky exercise — government budgeting — into a participatory game of winners and losers. In the process, it would also likely give Musk a valuable prize: our attention.<h2 id="ecf50696-d41c-44af-a191-d6e041165dae">A 'leaderboard' can gamify a wonky subject — and help it go viral</h2>Natalie Andreas, a communications studies professor at the University of Texas at Austin and digital strategy consultant, said Musk's leaderboard "has intriguing potential as a viral, high-impact marketing strategy."She said that, like a social media feed, the format "encourages frequent checking and sharing" and that public involvement through voting or sharing could fuel viral momentum.Ayelet Fishbach, a professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, said a leaderboard takes advantage of a "gamification" strategy.Such a strategy can be entertaining — which helps a prospective audience stay engaged. And an engaged audience can be more likely to pass on information to their friends and other social media contacts, disseminating a message.Or, as Musk himself said about the leaderboard: "The entertainment value will be <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1856524169338314838">epic</a>."<h2 id="419ad8c4-6323-4c1e-bac7-7bc5394716b5">Interactivity helps give an audience a feeling of control</h2>Musk has promised a virtual suggestion box where the public can give him tips on what to cut or protect. "Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!" he wrote. Musk and Trump's representatives didn't return a request for comment.Especially in a dry realm like government spending, Musk's plans are bound to grab eyeballs — and perhaps make people feel more invested in the outcome. And in an environment with so many distractions — social media, streaming video, text messages — attention is a valuable commodity.Andreas said the leaderboard could strengthen Musk's brand "as a bold, transparency-driven disruptor," though she also cautioned that it also would need "careful handling" to let the people and organizations targeted by the board add context.She said allowing users to vote or contribute examples of perceived waste "could drive high engagement and user-generated content, making the leaderboard both interactive and addictive."Karen North, a clinical professor of communication at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said the venture also speaks to Trump's unique ability to spark an emotional investment — and sometimes encourage vilification — in American politics. North previously served in the Clinton administration's science and technology policy office.She said the leaderboard marks another example of how the president-elect turns politics "into a show.""There's nothing more boring than talking about reducing spending in government. It's worse than just doing math for the sake of math," North said.<h2 id="90bc8724-304c-43f5-b31a-17725260dea9">There are risks to the gamification strategy</h2>North said the gamification strategy comes with risks. "People will be so easily drawn into playing 'gotcha' and being outraged that they may get caught up in the outcome rather than the meaningful details," she said.But gamifying the subject makes it fun — and social media has created a "participatory society" where people feel even more involved and invested, she said.There is some precedent for Musk's leaderboard, North said, noting that former Sen. William Proxmire, a Democrat from Wisconsin, began to issue the "Golden Fleece Award" for wasteful spending throughout the 1970s and '80s via monthly press releases.North said it is often considered one of the most successful PR campaigns in government history, though she cautioned that it did lead to some unforeseen consequences: Some research that was initially ridiculed as wasteful government spending — including the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldengooseaward.org/01awardees/screwworms">sexual behavior of screwworms</a> — later proved critical to the US livestock industry and significantly reduced beef costs for Americans.And Amy Jo Kim, a game designer who has a doctoral degree in behavioral neuroscience and who's taught game design at Stanford, said that a leaderboard can inherently contain a point of view: Who's to determine, for instance, what's "waste" and how that's defined.It's "a storytelling device," Kim said. "It's the opposite of transparency, but it'll be seen as transparency by people that don't realize that it all comes back to who defines waste."

Elon Musk's promise of an 'epic' leaderboard of 'dumb' government spending reveals his marketing savvy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Influencer marketers are moving away from campaigns with micro influencers and back to big stars.</li><li>A new survey from Linqia saw a drop in marketing work among creators with fewer than 500,000 fans.</li></ul>A few years ago, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/influencers">influencer</a> marketers were ditching their plans to hire celebrity content creators for brand deals in exchange for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/micro-influencers-are-top-category-to-hire-marketer-survey-2020-3">influencers with smaller audiences</a>. Goodbye, Kim Kardashian. Hello, small-town beauty influencer.Smaller creators, often categorized as "micro" influencers, typically have fewer than 100,000 fans. Marketers believed that cohort could reach a more intimate audience than celebrities and appear more authentic in their messaging, driving up engagement rates. They were also cheaper to hire, costing a few hundred dollars for a sponsored post instead of the thousands that an influencer with millions of followers might charge. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-instagram-nano-influencers-can-make-money-from-sponsored-posts-2020-3">Nano influencers</a>, or creators with as few as 5,000 fans, could charge as little as $5 for a promotional post.But the race among marketers to work with less famous (and cheaper) creators may be on its way out.In a recent <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.linqia.com/2025-soim/">survey</a> of 200 US enterprise marketers by the influencer firm Linqia, the agency found that between 2023 and 2024, the share of marketers who planned to work with celebrity and mega influencers grew, while interest in working with creators with fewer than 500,000 followers dropped. The survey ran between July and September.The share of survey respondents who said they wanted to work with a celebrity grew from 30% to 40% between 2023 and 2024. For mega influencers, the share rose from 48% to 60% over the same period. But a smaller share of marketers said they planned to work with macro, micro, and nano influencers year-over-year. Micro influencers as a category of work dropped from 74% to 62% between 2023 and 2024, while nano influencer work fell from 37% to 28%.One micro influencer, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/instagram-micro-influencer-how-much-money-month-affiliate-marketing-shopping-2021-11">Bethany Everett-Ratcliffe</a>, said she'd felt this impact on her business. Everett-Ratcliffe told Business Insider she has been "getting less paid partnerships" than in years prior, and has also noticed that more brands are "going through agencies," rather than reaching out directly.Other influencer-marketing firms separately told BI that they'd seen a shift away from less popular creators and toward bigger stars this year.So, why are micro and nano influencers losing their sparkle among marketers?A few reasons, industry insiders told BI:<ul><li>Micro influencers are becoming more expensive.</li><li>They're not driving engagement as much on social apps like TikTok that are flooded with content.</li><li>And working with them can be resource intensive, particularly as brands aim to vet talent more heavily before launching campaigns.</li></ul>"Some brands are requiring more vetting and approvals over creators and content so they don't want to have too many on a given program, and are instead focusing on fewer and bigger creator partnerships," Keith Bendes, VP of strategy at Linqia, told BI.While interest in larger creators is growing at the expense of smaller ones, macro and micro influencers still lead overall, with macro influencers being the most popular category for hire in 2024.<h2 id="89f37f0f-c928-408e-b0f1-e6752afd0ff7">Go big or go home</h2>One of the main reasons less famous creators are losing work is that they're starting to charge more, making it harder for marketers to see a return on investment. Four creators with 25,000 followers can cost more than one creator with 100,000 fans, Bendes said."Micro influencer rates have been rising and it's no longer a simple calculation," Bendes told BI.Other marketers have <a target="_blank" href="https://digiday.com/marketing/as-influencer-marketing-grows-so-do-micro-influencer-rates-there-have-been-10-20-fee-jumps-year-over-year/">reported up to 20% cost increases</a> among micro influencers between 2023 and 2024.Over-saturation on social apps is also a big factor. It's harder than ever to get noticed on apps like TikTok and Instagram. Hiring creators with larger, established audiences can help a brand break through the noise, especially as organic reach on platforms continues to be unpredictable, Bendes said.When Linqia respondents were asked about how they measured the success of a campaign, "reach" (tallied in views) was the top response, followed by engagement rate and conversions.Instead of taking a gamble on a micro influencer, brands are focusing on "fewer and bigger" creator partnerships, as well as more vetting of which creators they work with, Bendes added."Macro and mega influencers are some of the big-swing bets that brands have been more willing to take, to invest in, and they're paying off in big ways," James Nord, founder and CEO at the influencer-marketing firm Fohr, told BI.Meanwhile, celebrity endorsement campaigns have also been on brands' priority lists this year — from Sabrina Carpenter's partnership with Blank Street and Michael Cera's CeraVe Super Bowl campaign."These celebrity partnerships were successful because they felt natural, were clever, and also aligned with the celebrities' brands, making them feel authentic versus simply a commercial move," said Olivia McNaughten, a senior director at the influencer-marketing platform Grin.Still, the trend wasn't universally observed. Jonathan Chanti, chief growth office and talent president at Viral Nation, said: "We've seen a recent trend where brands have begun to shift their budgets away from mega influencers — those boasting over 5 million followers —toward mid-tier creators, who typically have up to 500,000 followers.Plenty of opportunities remain for less-famous talent, even if some sponsored content deals are fading. User-generated content (<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-money-from-ugc-user-generated-content-ads">UGC</a>), <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-money-with-affiliate-marketing">affiliate</a> links, and other performance-based marketing tactics continue to benefit creators with smaller audiences due to lower barriers to entry.UGC, a format in which a creator makes content a brand can use on its channels (instead of the influencer's own), is the third-most-popular way that brands and marketers choose to work with creators, according to Linqia's survey.The pool of money for sponsored content deals is still growing and is expected to hit <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/state-of-influencer-brand-deals-2024">around $8 billion</a> in the US this year, according to eMarketer.And within a year, micro influencers could very well be surging again among brands. The influencer marketing industry ultimately ebbs and flows at the whims of tech platforms' algorithms.

The influencer middle class is getting squeezed as marketers turn to superstar creators and celebs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>It's been 14 years since Duncan Forgan left Scotland and he's unsure whether he'll ever return home.</li><li>He says that bad air quality and traffic congestion can make Bangkok a difficult city to live in.</li></ul>A friend recently said that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reverse-culture-shock-moving-back-to-america-asia-singapore-2023-12">living in Southeast Asia</a> was akin to winning one of Willy Wonka's golden tickets. And it's impossible to dismiss a long list of advantages that include the cuisine, cultural heritage, diverse landscapes, low cost of living, and generally friendly, laid-back hosts.There are trade-offs, including terrible air quality, horrendous traffic congestion, and temperatures that veer toward the inhumane. But on the plus side, I get sun-kissed winters, palm-fringed beaches, and a less stringently regulated existence.Like anywhere, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/thailand-bangkok-tourist-mistake-travel-guide-local-tips-2023-4">life in Bangkok</a> has its difficulties. The city is enervating, largely incomprehensible, and as batty as Mr Wonka. Yet, overall, I do feel like I was handed the keys to the proverbial chocolate factory.With its gilded temples, sci-fi-worthy skyline, and heady mélange of sights, sounds, and smells, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-back-to-us-after-living-abroad-thailand-regret-home-2024-5">Bangkok</a> could barely be more vivid. This intensity helped me fall for Thailand's lovably deranged capital when I first traveled here 14 years ago.<div type="image" title="Man with glasses standing on red bridge" height="853" width="1280" msid="110448816" hostid="261" sizebytes="32454"></div>Here are four other things that have kept me in Southeast Asia's occasionally grubby grasp.<h2 id="5d0cb12b-bf8c-420d-b816-fc1ac122b684">1. Food is one of the city's chief keepers.</h2>From pavement vendors serving up banquets for just a few dollars to bustling markets packed with produce and vibrant with color, the city has a knack for whetting appetites, including my own.Bangkok is often cited as the planet's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jay-fai-michelin-star-bangkok-street-food-stall-review-price-2022-8">street food capital</a>. For high-quality street food in a safe, clean environment, it's hard to beat Or Tor Kor Market. It's a great place to sample a wide range of tasty creations, from som tam (spicy green papaya salad) and kao ka moo (braised pork served with rice) to mango sticky rice. Another choice destination is Yaowarat Road in Chinatown where delicious noodle dishes and roast meats such as pork, duck, and goose are the order of the day.The diversity of options still floors me. On a recent Sunday, I started my day with a bowl of Chinese-Thai jok (rice porridge) from Jok Prince, where charcoal fire imparts added smokiness. I then had lunch at South Indian stalwart Tamil Nadu and finished the day off with a dinner at Ojo, the sky-high signature Mexican restaurant at the crown of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bangkok-skyscraper-mahanakhon-2016-10">MahaNakhon Tower, </a>Thailand's tallest building.<h2 id="7dd2731d-5914-4980-9e72-9fda7cea38d8">2. It's easier to tune out of the news cycle</h2>This one is such an exile privilege that it comes with caveats.Many Thai friends despair about the country's broken politics and surface-level media which favors soap opera-style stories over critical analysis.But personally, I find it liberating to detach from the yoke of everyday consumption of Western news outlets through choice or osmosis.The pandemic was a giant story in Thailand, as it was everywhere. Yet Western media obsessions — US presidential elections and divisive identity politics, to name but two — are not given the same relentless prominence here.Social media makes it difficult to ignore the vicissitudes of the global news agenda. However, I appreciate the added scope to tune out the noise.<div type="image" title="Two motorbikes on dirt road in Southeast Asia" height="1206" width="1608" msid="110448817" hostid="261" sizebytes="426276"></div><h2 id="f9b9eaf2-31d7-4920-a64b-8bfd1f6fdbba">3. The amazing destinations on my doorstep</h2>I've experienced some transcendent moments across the Asia-Pacific region.My travel writing gigs have encompassed dancing to obscure soul music in a sweaty underground club with Kansai's mod contingent, piloting a vintage Royal Enfield to hunt down the best bowl of khao soi in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chiang-mai-travel-guide-tips-for-tourists-packing-mistakes-list-2022-8">Chiang Mai</a>, and hacking my way along the Nullarbor Links from South to Western Australia.Recently, I visited Phong Nha in north-central Vietnam for the first time and spent three days exploring the karst scenery. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/motorbike-vietnam-ha-giang-loop-dangerous-roadtrip-worth-it-2023-9">motorbike loop</a> from the Phong Nha Farmstay was a worthy introduction to the area. But the grand finale — a one-day trek involving waterfall jumps and a swim into the extremities of a river cave — was unforgettable.The cliché about there always being something new to discover is well-worn. And, in the case of Asia, it's true.<div type="image" title="Father and sun walking on green grass in Scotland" height="1512" width="2016" msid="110448818" hostid="261" sizebytes="411794"></div><h2 id="0246d509-0c21-469b-a8fd-156497efa7cc">4. Life at home gets harder to visualize</h2>I'd be lying if I said I never feel the call of home.When I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/man-partying-bangkok-expat-dad-fatherhood-asia-overseas-thailand-2023-11">left London for Asia</a> at the end of 2010, I felt pretty done with the UK due to a combination of factors, ranging from relationship woes to despair about my spluttering career.For a while, I was happy enough to redeem the return portion of my airfare whenever I made my yearly trip home.The arrival of my son, Alexander, along with a nearly three-year pandemic-imposed gap between trips, and a long-term Bangkok resident's gratitude for clean air and quiet have helped soften my perspective. These days, the annual pilgrimage to Scotland is something to anticipate rather than to tick off.For all my renewed appreciation of my homeland, relocating there still feels like a stretch. I've not lived in Scotland since 2007, and the axis of my life — wife and son, friends, work networks, clients — is almost entirely Asia-orientated. Also, years of encountering diverse cultures, ways of life, and perspectives in Asia have altered me to the point where I'm <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-back-to-us-from-cuba-expat-culture-shock-2024-5">not confident of readjusting to home</a>.We are heading back to Scotland this July, and I can't wait to catch up with friends and family and show my son Alex the Highlands for the first time. But post-trip, I'll resist the temptation to place rose-tinted spectacles on overly misty eyes.Got a personal essay about living abroad that you want to share? Get in touch with the editor: <a target="_blank" href="mailto:akarplus@businessinsider.com">akarplus@businessinsider.com</a>.

I moved to Thailand, started a family, and can't picture ever returning home to Scotland  

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Chinese stock market has rebounded and analysts said the rally looks set to continue. </li><li>Two major economic indexes have flagged positive signs that Chinese stocks have bottomed. </li></ul>China's stock market may have shaken its label as "uninvestable," with an economic rebound and a rally that could have plenty more room to run. LPL Financial strategist Adam Turnquist wrote this week that long-held bearish calls on China's property and stock market have shaken investor confidence. However, recent strong economic indicators suggest that the country's economy is "climbing out of the bottom.""As is often the case, extremes in sentiment often work better as contrarian signals commonly found at important inflection points in the market," Turnquist wrote in a note on Thursday. The MSCI China Index, a go-to for global investors eyeing mid to large-cap stocks, has bounced back with a solid 20% surge from its bear market lows. "Roughly one-third of constituents reached new four-week highs last week, while close to 50% are also above their 200-day moving average, marking the highest percentage reading since August," he said. Another momentum gauge that compares the current price of an asset with its historical performance — the Percentage Price Oscillator — recently flashed a buy signal, adding more weight to the claim that the rally can push higher. China's recent reputation as "uninvestable" has been fueled by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-evergrande-property-real-estate-crisis-debts-collapse-what-happens-2024-2?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;_gl=1*1ky5v6o*_ga*MTYxMjM2MDEyMC4xNzE0NTA0MzM4*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcxNDc0MTcxNi4yMi4xLjE3MTQ3NDE3NTIuMjQuMC4w">mounting real estate troubles</a>, a plummeting stock market and dismal consumer demand that's sparked a deflationary spell for the country. However, after six straight months of outflows, foreign investors are returning and are putting money to work again in the country's markets. "Northbound flows that link Hong Kong and mainland stock exchanges in China have been positive for three straight months, pouring nearly 100 billion yuan into mainland shares since February," the note added. Since the start of 2024, Beijing has rolled out measures to revive its markets and the economy, including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-stock-market-crackdown-learned-lessons-tech-private-sector-2024-2">limiting short selling</a> and promoting a new real estate development approach while increasing construction efforts. The country's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-first-quarter-gdp-growth-but-pain-not-over-2024-4">economy grew 5.3%</a> in the first quarter of 2024. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio said in March that <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ray-dalio-china-stock-market-cheap-assets-debt-geopolitics-issues-2024-4">it's the best moment to invest in China</a> because it's cheap, while also warning the country could be headed for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ray-dalio-china-commentary-economic-geopolitical-macro-outlook-climate-storm-2024-3?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets&amp;_gl=1*1v09ohq*_ga*MTYxMjM2MDEyMC4xNzE0NTA0MzM4*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcxNDc0MTcxNi4yMi4xLjE3MTQ3NDI3NzIuNDcuMC4w">"100-year storm"</a> with several major economic challenges.

China's stock market has staged a big rebound that's poised to push on, strategist says

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Taiwanese crypto expert is accused of running a $100 million dark web drug market.</li><li>Feds say he operated the drug marketplace and blackmailed its users in its final days.</li></ul>A 23-year-old Taiwanese <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/crypto">crypto</a> expert known for posting his qualifications on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/linkedin">LinkedIn</a>, working at an embassy, and lecturing police officers on cybercrime, may have been leading a questionable double life.Lin Rui-siang stands accused of running a $100 million <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pennsylvania-woman-fbi-dark-web-drug-laboratory-screenplay-research-doj-2023-10">dark web drug market</a>, attempting to blackmail its users, and instructing others on how to evade anti-money-laundering investigators.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/incognito-market-owner-arrested-operating-one-largest-illegal-narcotics-marketplaces">According to the Department of Justice</a>, Lin was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport on Monday, and was charged with engaging in a continuing criminal conspiracy, narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication, and money laundering.Federal prosecutors say that he owned and operated Incognito Market, a dark web drug market selling heroin, cocaine, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-are-the-sacklers-wealth-philanthropy-oxycontin-photos-2019-1">oxycodone, and</a> other illicit substances.According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/lin-rui-siang-incognito-market/?utm_source=flipboard&amp;utm_content=topic%2Ffbi">WIRED</a>, which was the first to report on this, two months ago Lin led a course for St. Lucia Police titled "Cyber Crime and Cryptocurrency" about how to trace cryptocurrency.In April, the Government of St. Lucia <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Taiwan+sponsors+Cryptocurrency+and+Cybercrime+Training&amp;sca_esv=8d2d5f34a47bd10f&amp;rlz=1C5GCCM_en&amp;sxsrf=ADLYWIK3XwAoD-Ml0bxYwPPSUHuWqOf6dA:1716547508406&amp;source=lnms&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiR7-njjaaGAxU7AHkGHa8FDWIQ0pQJegQIBhAC&amp;biw=1405&amp;bih=1027&amp;dpr=1">published a press release</a> praising the four-day course, sponsored by the Taiwanese government, which it said 30 members of the police force had completed.The press release said Lin had "used his professional background and qualifications in the field" to help the Royal St. Lucia Police Force enhance its cybercrime-fighting abilities.While this likely referred to Lin's role as a diplomatic IT specialist at the Taiwanese embassy, the DoJ alleges that his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/cybersecurity">cybercrime expertise </a>had more nefarious origins.Since Incognito Market was launched in October 2020 and closed in March of this year, the marketplace sold more than $100 million worth of narcotics, the DoJ said. The DoJ said Lin used the pseudonyms "Pharoah" and "faro."According to the Justice Department, the website had its own "bank" to facilitate transactions, which allowed users to deposit <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/what-is-cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency.</a>In <a target="_blank" href="https://ecf.nysd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_temp.pl?file=file0.530684903535199.pdf&amp;type=application/pdf">a criminal complaint</a> against Lin, an FBI investigator said customers and vendors used Monero, which uses privacy-enhancing technologies, and bitcoin.The <a target="_blank" href="https://ecf.nysd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_temp.pl?file=file0.184239433185336.pdf&amp;type=application/pdf">indictment</a> claims that Lin closed the drug marketplace in or around March, and that he refused to return money stored in the "bank" to vendors and customers.It also said that he threatened to leak users' transaction history unless they paid a fee.According to the indictment, a message on the website landing page read: "YES, THIS IS AN EXTORTION!!!"WIRED reported that Lin also operated a web service called Antinalysis, which charged users a fee to check whether their crypto could be linked to criminal transactions.The outlet said that "Pharoah" posted on a dark web market forum that its aim was to help users evade anti-money-laundering investigators.If convicted, Lin faces life in prison.The investigation was led by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, and the New York Police Department."This arrest underscores the dedicated, ongoing efforts of law enforcement to identify and dismantle illicit drug networks operating from every shadowy recess of the marketplace," NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/incognito-market-owner-arrested-operating-one-largest-illegal-narcotics-marketplaces">said</a> in a statement.

He taught cops how to fight crypto crime. Now he's accused of running a $100 million dark web drug market.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>These four crypto-related stocks are up over 100% in the past month amid a broader tech rally. </li><li>The Fed delivered its smallest rate hike in nearly a year on Wednesday, leaving traders to wager slightly riskier bets.</li></ul>Crypto-linked stocks are on a tear this month as risk appetite grows on wagers that high inflation may be in the rearview mirror. And four companies in particular have stood out, after more than doubling since the start of the year. Crypto exchange Coinbase surged 143% in the past month to $81.76 on Friday, notching prices not seen since last September. The stock spiked 26% on Thursday after a <a href="https://decrypt.co/120451/coinbase-stock-up-26-percent-after-class-action-lawsuit-dismissed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">judge dismissed</a> a proposed class-action lawsuit against the crypto exchange. MicroStrategy, which has bought up 132,500 bitcoin since August 2020, shot up 102% in the past month as well.While the software company has lost money for eight consecutive quarters and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/crypto-bitcoin-michael-saylor-microstrategy-safe-haven-losses-investing-analysis-2023-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> a $1.47 billion net loss for 2022 on Thursday, shares are up and notched a nearly six-month high of $293 on Friday, tracking this year's bitcoin rebound."Our corporate strategy and conviction in acquiring, holding, and growing our bitcoin position for the long term remains unchanged," CFO Andrew Kang said.Meanwhile, crypto mining companies Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms are up 130% and 127%, respectively, in the past month.Investors are less risk averse as signs of slower inflation continue to mount, easing concerns about a hawkish Federal Reserve. That was confirmed Wednesday, when the central bank delivered its smallest rate hike in nearly a year.Amid the more upbeat outlook on rates, stocks have seen a broader rally, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite and the S&amp;P 500 up 16.87% and 8.9% in the past month, respectively.Crypto markets are also notching gains right now. Bitcoin and ethereum surged more than 30% in the past month, according to <a href="https://messari.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Messari</a>, as the industry's market value settles above $1 trillion. "We might be getting six more weeks of winter, but it doesn't seem like we will be seeing an ice age in crypto," Edward Moya, senior market analyst for market maker Oanda, said in a note, referring to the latest Groundhog Day forecast.He added: "January was a robust month for crypto and the [Federal Open Market Committee rate] decision helped keep all risky assets going higher."

Crypto-linked stocks are on a tear, with Coinbase, MicroStrategy, and others up more than 100% in a month as risk appetite returns

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A pension system in <keyword id="13819013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fairfax-county" source="Orion">Fairfax County</keyword>, <keyword id="11918128" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="virginia" source="Orion">Virginia</keyword>, is reportedly considering allocating money to funds focused on crypto <keyword id="12228918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="yield-farming" source="Orion">yield farming</keyword>. </li><li>Yield farming involves locking up, or staking, cryptocurrency for a period of time in exchange for interest or other rewards. </li></ul>A pension system in Virginia's most populated county may allocate some money to two crypto funds that use yield farming as an investment strategy, a move that could bolster returns for its portfolio, according to reports.If approved, the Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System will aim to add money to the funds in the next three weeks, according to a Tuesday <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/144934/virginia-county-looks-to-crypto-yield-farming-for-pension-system-investments">report from The Block</a>, citing the system's Chief Investment Officer Katherine Molnar. Molnar spoke at the Milken Institute of Global Conference in Los Angeles. Similar to earning interest from money deposited at a bank, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/yield-farming">yield farming involves locking up, or staking, cryptocurrency</a>, for a period of time in exchange for interest or other rewards, such as more cryptocurrency. The process provides liquidity to decentralized exchanges. The report said Molnar views yield farming as a fixed income replacement, or an opportunity to make higher returns than rate-sensitive assets."We're using it as a high-yield substitute...the yields we're expecting are, let's say, closer to nine to 11 % in one case and the other manager probably slightly higher than that, so attractive as a fixed income replacement," she was quoting as saying. Fairfax County became one of the first counties in the US to put pension money into crypto-linked investments in 2019, according to Bloomberg. Fairfax's crypto-focused investments add up to more than 8% of its portfolio, Molnar told <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/employee-benefits/virginia-pension-funds-mull-investing-in-crypto-yield-farming">Bloomberg, which reported first about consideration of the yield-farming strategy</a>.The Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System and Fairfax County Employees' Retirement System in 2021 invested $50 million into Parataxis Capital Management LLC's main fund, which buys various digital tokens and cryptocurrency derivatives, according to Bloomberg.

A Virginia pension system is considering adding crypto yield farming to its portfolio to boost returns

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Catastrophe bonds, or cat bonds, have enjoyed a perfect storm of conditions that are leading to a banner year. </li><li>According to the Swiss Re Cat Bond Price Return Index, year-to-date returns are clocking in at 16.5%.</li></ul>It's been a tough few months for the bond market as persistent inflation, a ballooning federal deficit, and a debt downgrade <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/treasury-bond-yields-market-selloff-market-crashes-dot-com-bubble-2023-10">have slammed Treasurys</a>.But catastrophe bonds, or cat bonds, have enjoyed a perfect storm of conditions that are leading to a banner year. "It appears that if things go the way we think they might go, you might very well be looking at a record return of cat bonds this year," Emmanuel Modu, managing director at insurance credit rating agency AM Best, told Insider. So why are cat bonds so lucrative now? That's in part because cat bonds promise a high return if a certain natural catastrophe doesn't happen. If the said disaster does occur, however, then the issuer uses investors' money to help pay out claims. While there have been 24 climate disaster events in the US this year, with losses exceeding $1 billion each, many haven't been severe enough to trigger payouts. According to the Swiss Re Cat Bond Price Return Index, year-to-date total returns are clocking in at 16.5%, on track for a new high unless a catastrophe occurs in the next few months.In addition, cat bonds are largely insulated from other forces moving markets — like virus outbreaks, bank failures, or wars — and price fluctuations don't always mean yield fluctuations.Another reason is that money invested in cat bonds goes into Treasurys. And as <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/treasury-bond-crash-yields-auction-demand-market-supply-us-debt-2023-10">US yields have been going up</a>, returns on cat bonds have been too. Cat bond yields have also been on the rise because investors demanded higher risk premiums to make up for the increased frequency of severe storms and wildfires over the past several years, according to a Moody's note last month.<h2>Why investors buy cat bonds</h2>Insurers and reinsurers often issue cat bonds to de-risk themselves. And with the climate threat growing, cat bond issuance this year reached $10.3 billion by the middle of August, above the $10 billion for all of 2022, according to Moody's. The market is on track to eclipse the record high of $13.9 billion in 2021.Meanwhile, cat bonds' loss multiple, or the amount of money you could make versus the amount of money you could lose, has become more attractive for investors."Loss multiples have more than doubled since 2021, which is a pretty big deal, actually," Modu said. Many investors are hedge funds, pension funds and other institutional investors. And they are looking for assets that won't swing in line with the broader market."Interest rate movements don't cause hurricanes," Jeff Mohrenweiser, senior director at the Fitch rating agency, told Insider. "So they're somewhat independent and that's attractive to investors because now they can put some non-correlated or diversifying risk into their portfolio."To be sure, cat bonds are typically considered junk bonds, he added, explaining that they're below investment grade because the probability of default is much higher compared to an investment-grade bond.But Modu thinks investors are getting concerned about the effect of climate change on returns in the broader insurance-linked securities market."So therefore, to avoid it, some investors are kind of flying to quality effectively," he said. "And quality is cat bonds."

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