Stanford University's acceptance rate hit an all-time low for the class of 2020, with 4.69% of applicants accepted into the prestigious California-based school.

That means Stanford is the most selective college in the US, beating out all Ivy League institutions.

But while getting into Stanford might seem like a nearly impossible task, many other achievements in life — like acceptance into some elementary schools — are more difficult than earning a spot within the school's prestigious walls.

Ben Winsor and Christina Sterbenz also contributed to this story.

SEE ALSO: Early acceptance rates to Ivy League schools are drastically higher than regular — but the reason why isn't as obvious as it seems

A spot at one of New York City's top elementary schools

The elementary admissions process in New York City is utterly grueling. Among exemplary schools, one stands out as the gold-standard:Hunter College Elementary School.

Each year, Hunter chooses 25 girls and 25 boys from all of Manhattan to be admitted to its incoming kindergarten class.

They're hand-selected from a pool of about 2,500 applicants, according to the website Inside Schools. That makes the acceptance rate for Hunter 2%. 

A job as an NBC page

Landing an internship-like role in the National Broadcasting Company's page program is competitive to say the least. Famously, the character Kenneth Parcel was a page on 30 Rock.

For example, in 2016 there were 2,600 applicants for 120 positions, for a 4.6% acceptance rate.

The NBC page role is a year-long entry-level role where employees perform PR responsibilities among other tasks depending on their department.

A spot at an innovative startup college

College startup Minerva Schools has received 16,000 applications for 306 available places this year, the Financial Times reported.

Its model vastly differs from four years of school at other prestigious colleges. Students don't stay in one place during their four-year education.

They spend time in up to seven residence houses in San Francisco, California; Berlin, Germany; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Seoul, South Korea; Bangalore, India; Istanbul, Turkey; and London, England.

At 1.9%, the acceptance rate for the unconventional college is far lower than at Stanford.

If your New Year's resolution is to read more, have we got some recommendations for you.

And if your New Year's resolution isn't to read more ... well, have we got some recommendations that will make you change your resolution.

The following eight books will help you stop worrying, stop being tired, and stop feeling overwhelmed — and start excelling in your field, embracing life's opportunities for adventure, and being happier every day.

In other words, they'll change your life. Check out our top picks below.

SEE ALSO: I read 15 books this year on happiness, productivity, and success — here are the most meaningful insights I've taken away

'Emotional Agility' by Susan David

David is a psychologist at Harvard Medical School; she's consulted with organizations including the United Nations and Ernst and Young.

In her book "Emotional Agility," she teaches readers to reckon with their feelings — instead of fearing them, suppressing them, or acting out on them immediately. In fact, David argues that you can mine your feelings for important information about your personal values, which in turn will help you create a fulfilling life.

The book teaches readers to talk to themselves almost like they'd talk to a child. Case in point: When you think you're angry, or sad, or whatever, ask yourself: "What are two other options for what I'm feeling?"

And when you're generally not happy, she says, the worst thing you can do is try to force yourself to be happy. Instead, you'll want to sit with your negative feelings and accept them without judgment. Because the more you resist, the more powerful those negative emotions become.

'Peak' by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool

In "Peak," Ericsson, a psychologist at Florida State University, lays out decades of scientific and anecdotal evidence for the idea that there is only one path to becoming the best in any field.

That path is what Ericsson and his colleagues call "deliberate practice": working with a teacher who helps you step outside your comfort zone and try activities beyond your current abilities.

The really controversial part of Ericsson's argument is that talent and genetic factors are more or less irrelevant to your progress. Some psychologists disagree.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of "Peak" is Ericsson's assertion that practice isn't supposed to be enjoyable.  If you're having fun, you're not doing it right. The point is to fail, and get frustrated, and then, get back up again anyway.

'I Know How She Does It' by Laura Vanderkam

Vanderkam is a prolific writer, and "I Know How She Does It" is her most recent investigation into the best ways to manage your time and craft a meaningful life.

In what she calls the "Mosaic Project," Vanderkam reviewed the time logs of dozens of high-earning women and looked for patterns in how they spent their days. In the book, she distills those patterns into practical lessons for readers of any gender or income level.

One lesson: Be realistic about how much you're working — it's probably less than you think. (Keeping a time log can help with that.) Another lesson: Working on the weekends can make you more productive and more relaxed, because you'll have more time during the week to spend with your family.

The overarching theme is that you do have time for the things and people you love — you just have to work at it, and sometimes get creative.

For many people, the summer months symbolize pleasure reading at its best.

It's a time to indulge in the texts that are most appealing, without scrutiny: an easy beach read, a guilty pleasure, or that book you've always meant to start.

But students at America's most prestigious private schools must still endure the rigors of homework during their summer vacations with a little reading — some required, some merely recommended. The titles cover issues such as war, sexuality, and racial history.

Check out the books current seniors at prestigious private schools across the US added to their libraries:

SEE ALSO: 14 things that are harder to get into than Stanford

The Hotchkiss School — Lakeville, Connecticut

Students must read three books of their choosing plus the required items below:

Read (novel) — "The Things They Carried," by Tim O'Brien

Read (novel) — "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," by Sherman Alexie

Watch — "The Hunger Games" (2012)

Read (poem) — "A Work of Artifice," by Marge Piercy

Trinity School — New York, New York

Students can choose to read one or more of the books on the list below and then participate in informal discussion groups in the fall:

"Alice in Wonderland," by Lewis Carroll

"All the Light We Cannot See," by Anthony Doerr

"The Boys in the Boat," by Daniel James Brown

"Catch-22," by Joseph Heller

"Closely Watched Trains," by Bohumil Hrabal

"Color of Magic," by Terry Pratchett

"Crime and Punishment," by Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Deep," by James Nestor

"The Martian," by Andy Weir

"The Old Man and the Sea," Ernest Hemingway

"The Wind in the Willows," Kenneth Grahame

Deerfield Academy — Deerfield, Massachusetts

Students must read four books that they choose from a list of over 50. Titles on the list include:

"Half of a Yellow Sun," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"The Circle," by Dave Eggers 

"A Clockwork Orange," by Anthony Burgess

"The Universe and The Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty," by K.C. Cole

"Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison

"Madame Bovary," by Gustave Flaubert

"To The Lighthouse," by Virginia Woolf

Recruitment website Glassdoor has ranked British companies based on how much they pay directors — senior staff who generally take care of a particular area of a company.

The site, which lets staff anonymously submit company reviews and salary information, used data compiled over the past three years to produce its list.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the companies where director pay is highest are concentrated in the financial services and banking sectors, with the top nine made up of five banks, three of the Big Four accountancy firms, and one investment management firm.

"This report shows that Directors at the top paying companies in the UK can get six-figure salaries, and that is not even including bonuses and stock,"Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor's chief economist, said in a press release.

"Banking and professional services dominate, and it’s interesting that just one tech firm makes the list. Almost all of these firms have their UK headquarters in London, proving that The City is still the place to be when it comes to leadership salaries."

All figures below are median salaries, excluding bonuses and other awards.

9. KPMG — £102,000: KPMG employs almost 190,000 people worldwide, and brings in revenues just north of $25 billion per year. No surprise then that UK directors are handsomely remunerated.

8. BlackRock — £102,070: The only company on the list that isn't a bank or professional services firm, BlackRock is by far the world's largest asset manager with $5.1 trillion in assets under management. Directors earn an average of £70 per year more than their counterparts at KPMG.

7. EY — £110,000: A near £8,000 jump sees us move to another of the Big Four, Ernst & Young (now officially styled as EY). EY has 231,000 staff globally at the most recent count.

Jocelyn Wildenstein, 76, is as well known for her immense divorce settlement as she is for her looks.

But despite the Swiss-born socialite being awarded $2.5 billion (£1.7 billion) from her former elite art dealer and horse-racing husband Alec in the late 1990s in one of the biggest divorce settlements in history — she claimed over the last week that she is broke.

But the initial bumper payout was not the only thing that got her worldwide press attention — her penchant for surgery to make her face more "feline," allegedly to please her ex-husband, has been widely reported.

Meanwhile, in December, her 14-year relationship with French designer Lloyd Klein also came to an end after reports of domestic violence from both sides — which they both strongly deny.

There is more than meets the eye, though. Wildenstein is an accomplished hunter and pilot, and she has a love for art and "decoration."

This is her crazy life:

Jocelyn Wildenstein was born as Jocelynnys Dayannys da Silva Bezerra Périsset on August 5, 1940, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Not much is known about her upbringing in a middle-class family in Switzerland other than that she was the daughter of a struggling department-store buyer.

At the age of 17 her life changed — she started dating Swiss movie producer Cyril Piguet. She told New York magazine that after two years they moved to Paris together. "My life changed then," she said. "Lausanne is very plain, but I began meeting exciting, glamorous people."

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. 

After food-induced Christmas comas and indulgent New Year's Eve celebrations, we can probably all do with making a resolution to be healthier this year.

If a healthier lifestyle is your goal for 2017, make it a priority, and make use of a calendar.

Not only will that mean you'll have to find time to go to the gym, or cook healthier meals, but it's also one of the best ways to stick with it year round. 

Still, making something as painful as going to the gym a habit can be hard, so we've rounded up some of the gadgets, products, and deals which will make your New Year's resolution easier to stick with this year. 

From inexpensive gym memberships, to healthier takeout alternatives, all these products can help you get a healthier start to 2017. 

A yoga class

If one of your New Year's resolution is to exercise more, but you prefer to avoid the gym in favour of a group activity, you can pick up these ten Bikram Yoga sessions for just £35. Considering that a gym membership can cost up to £70 a month, this is an absolute steal. 

Bikram Yoga London: Ten Sessions, £35

A practical lunch box

Part of living a healthier lifestyle is avoiding unhealthy lunches you pick up during your lunch break. This Joseph Joseph lunch box will save space, and enable you to bring your lunch, as well as healthy snacks. 

Joseph Joseph Go Eat Lunch Box, £16

A recipe book

Joe Wicks (also known as the Body Coach) has inspired loads of people to change their lifestyles, and become their healthiest selves. This book is full of recipes which can be cooked up in 15 minutes or less, which means you'll have no more excuses not to whip up some great meals. It also includes four workouts if you fancy working up a sweat before dinner. 

"Lean in 15 - The Sustain Plan,"£8

LONDON — Back in August, the Waitrose Good Food Guide 2017 published its ranking of the UK's 50 best restaurants.

While the top three places to check out in the UK this year are in Cumbria, Cornwall, and Nottinghamshire, London is still the foodie capital of the country. Fifteen restaurants in the capital make it onto the list.

The best restaurant in the UK, according to the Good Food Guide is L’Enclume, located in a small Cumbrian village, but four London venues make it into the top 10. Many of them also have the most expensive tasting menus in the city.

From regular award winner Le Gavroche in Mayfair, to the boundary-pushing menu at Restaurant Story in Bermondsey, here are the top 13, with their overall rankings in brackets.

13. Sketch (36th) — Two Michelin-starred restaurant Sketch in Mayfair is famous for its high-quality dishes, but stands out for its presentation. Dishes like this lavender ice cream are all served on quirky plates.

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12. Restaurant Story (32nd) — This one Michelin-starred restaurant in Bermondsey serves just one menu in the evening, the "Full Story." The courses are called "chapters," and this lobster tail with edible flowers makes up "Chapter II."

11. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal (29th) — Chef Blumenthal is famous for his experimental dishes. This starter at his restaurant in Knightsbridge, a chicken liver pate disguised as a satsuma and named "Meat Fruit," is one of his best-known.

You may not know her by name but you probably have seen her workout videos pop up on your Instagram feed.  

Kayla Itsines is a social media star and trainer who has built a massive empire with millions of followers.

The 25-year-old Australian has become Instagram-famous with her Bikini Body Guides. She also has an app that essentially puts her training in her fans' pockets.

The star has cultivated an online community that calls itself "Kayla's Army," largely by sharing impressive progress photos — or "transformations"— of the women who are committed to her program. It serves as visible inspiration.

Mallory Schlossberg contributed reporting on a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: Victoria's Secret model reveals an incredibly easy morning routine that keeps her in shape

The Bikini Body Guides are relatively simple.

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Itsines provides her clients with three days of circuit-training routines that change every week. She encourages women to do sessions of "LISS" (low-intensity steady-state cardio) and later incorporate "HIIT" (high-intensity interval training) into their training regimen.

The "HELP"— Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Plan — guide features two weeks of diet plans.

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Itsines doesn't appear to encourage restrictive diets — in fact, she sent a promotional email that discussed "why diets don't work."

It's a 12-week program, and many women appear to repeat it. Itsines also offers a "2.0" version for people who finish the first guide and want more of a challenge.

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It's $119.97 AUD to purchase the workout guide and the eating plan together. That's expensive, but it's cheaper than regular SoulCycle classes.

The retail industry is on the cusp of a fundamental transformation driven by digital technologies. And as retailers adapt to the digital age, the line between physical and digital commerce is becoming increasingly blurred.

BI Intelligence has created a slide deck exploring the most disruptive trends in e-commerce.  Access the full deck now for free by clicking here.

Some of the topics covered include:

• The size of the retail and e-commerce markets.
• The breakdown of e-commerce sales by product category.
• How legacy retailers are adapting to digital.
• Which e-commerce companies are leading the way.
• What omnichannel strategies retail companies are adopting.
• And much more.

The companies mentioned in this year's presentation include:  Sports Authority, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple, Wayfair, Target, Dollar Shave Club, Instacart, Walmart, CVS, and Sam's Club.

Below are 8 sample slides from the 65-page deck.  Want the full deck? Access it here for FREE >>

Want the full 65-page slide deck?  Access it Here - FREE >>

Want the full 65-page slide deck?  Access it Here - FREE >>

Want the full 65-page slide deck?  Access it Here - FREE >>

"Game of Thrones" was by far the most popular show around the world in 2016, according to a new analysis from Parrot Analytics. "The Walking Dead" came in second, followed by "Pretty Little Liars" and "Westworld."

Parrot analyzed not only ratings data (where available) but also peer-to-peer sharing, social media chatter, and other factors to estimate viewer demand for various shows. These combined measurements determine each show's "demand expressions" per day. Though the formula is opaque, the ranking appears to be one of the best ways to compare shows across platforms and measure how popular they really are.

What other shows ruled the past year? Check out the top 20 below.

DON'T MISS: Google reveals the biggest stars on "Game of Thrones"

SEE ALSO: Netflix is getting so smart it's scary

1) HBO’s "Game of Thrones" with 7.2 million demand expressions per day. People around the world were desperate to learn the fate of Jon Snow and watch the rise of Daenerys Targaryen, as the epic adaptation moved past the novels into uncharted territory.

2) AMC’s "The Walking Dead" with 4.7 million demand expressions per day. The shocking beginning of season 7 led to an explosion in social media interest.

3) ABC’s "Pretty Little Liars" with 3.8 million demand expressions per day. This teen drama had a devoted following through seven seasons and its series finale in October.

If in 2017, you've vowed to find a new job, get a promotion, be a better boss, or simply enjoy work more, Business Insider has got your back.

Over the past year, we've covered a bunch of books that redefine "work" and offer solid tips for making it a less terrible way to spend your time.

Our list is a diverse sampling of advice and strategies from business-school professors, psychologists, and career coaches — all with the same goal of helping you craft a meaningful work life.

Below, we've rounded up our top seven picks.

SEE ALSO: The 20 best business books of 2016

'What Got You Here Won't Get You There' by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

Goldsmith is a psychologist and an executive coach who's worked with more than 150 CEOs. He's been named multiple times to the Thinkers50 list of influential management thinkers.

"What Got You Here Won't Get You There" is geared toward workers looking to advance to the next stage in their careers.

The thrust of the book is that just because you've been able to get by with your counterproductive habits doesn't mean you'll be able to reach the top of your field with those same tendencies. So it's time to nix them.

Goldsmith and Reiter outline the 20 workplace habits that keep business leaders — and everyone else — from success.

The authors also offer a number of necessary wake-up calls — like the fact that it matters more what other people think of you than what you think of you. And that asking your team for "feedforward," or suggestions for the future, is just as important as soliciting feedback.

'Smarter Faster Better' by Charles Duhigg

Four years after publishing his bestseller "The Power of Habit," Duhigg released another bestseller, titled "Smarter Faster Better."

In the book, Duhigg, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist for The New York Times, deconstructs productivity and creativity into skills that anyone can develop.

He draws on stories from Disney creatives, Google teams, and airplane pilots to make the argument that productivity and creativity are really the results of systematic thinking and behavior.

Consider the production of the hit Disney film "Frozen," for example. Duhigg suggests that the creative team succeeded by combining old ideas — princesses and sisters — in new ways. In other words, anyone can learn to be creative if they embrace the power of new perspectives.

'Payoff' by Dan Ariely

Ariely, a behavioral economist and professor at Duke University, is the author of a number of popular books, including "Predictably Irrational." He also publishes a column in The Wall Street Journal in which he answers readers' questions about human behavior.

In "Payoff," Ariely argues that human motivation is a lot more complex than we might believe. Most importantly, money isn't everything.

In fact, getting pizza and compliments can be more motivating than getting a financial bonus. And letting people take ownership of a project and giving them credit for it makes them more inclined to do it well.

"Mindblowing" has become a shorthand for "pretty cool," but the science suggests it's true: There are plenty of tasks that are simply too overwhelming for the human brain to handle.

Comprehending size is one of them.

Sure, the Empire State Building is big, but so are the Earth and the solar system. And all of those things are big at wildly different magnitudes.

That's where scale models come in handy.

Sometimes the only way to understand the world at its extremes is to put it in terms we use every day.

SEE ALSO: 22 Charts That Put All Of Time Into Perspective

Source

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Washington, D.C.'s restaurants are rising to gastronomic greatness. Perhaps there's no better proof than the fact that in October its own Michelin Red Guide — the French final word in epicurean mastery — appeared on the stands. The book contains 96 pages of restaurant accolades, but what everyone's talking about are the star ratings. Nine Washington, D.C. restaurants received one coveted star, meaning "a very good restaurant in its category." Three restaurants received two stars, meaning "excellent cooking" that is "worth a detour." Though those in-the-know understand that the star ratings are more or less gifts from the culinary gods, these ratings are pretty good for a city that not so long ago was known more for its half-smokes and power-brokering steaks. Here's a primer on the 12 starred recipients.

SEE ALSO: Michelin's guide to the best restaurants in New York City is out — here's who earned a spot on the list

Masseria

One Star

At night, the industrial Union Market neighborhood is graveyard quiet. Yet tucked behind a wall inside a former produce warehouse, Masseria is in full swing. The Italian oasis is set up like Russian nesting dolls: the festive outdoor cocktail area is centered around a fire pit and leads to a rustic-chic indoor-outdoor bar, which leads to the small, cozy restaurant, which is snuggled up next to the open kitchen. And that's the crux of this Puglia-focused resto: the anticipation of the unexpected, not knowing what awaits ahead. The innovative, prix-fixe menu offers the same kind of anticipation. "The menu is a roadmap of a journey," chef Nicholas Stefanelli says. "And you're open to traveling as far as you want to go." Meaning, you can stick with pasta for each course, or go for the more exotic offerings: a beef tripe and lobster brodetto, perhaps, or a burrata Pugliese with Osetra caviar and Wianno oysters. But remember to be prepared for the unexpected, the "garnish of whimsy," as Bon Appétit calls it: Chinese XO sauce with the linguine or a mojito with beer. And if you're willing to travel to the end of the map for the ultimate in anticipation, leave everything up to the kitchen and order the six-course chef's tasting menu. You are guaranteed a memorable trip into Chef Stefanelli's inspired culinary mind.

Plume

One Star

Located in downtown's elegant Jefferson Hotel, Plume follows a Jeffersonian theme: stately, intellectual, seasonal, and locally sourced. You see it right away in the intimate dining space: crystal chandeliers, historically accurate silk wallpaper (depicting Monticello scenes), a crackling fire, silver bird figurines gracing the table tops. Even the wine menu gives a nod to the third President's passion for viticulture. But it's chef Ralf Schlegel's cuisine that shines the most. Take one of his most celebrated signature dishes, for example: beeswax salmon. It took him six months to perfect, including the wooden box he created so hot wax wouldn’t leak onto the table. Jefferson, who dabbled in inventions of his own, no doubt would have been impressed.

Inn at Little Washington

Two Stars

The Michelin inspectors originally stated they would be confining their efforts to the city proper of Washington, D.C., as they didn't have the resources to cover the surrounding region. But they made an exception for Inn at Little Washington, a mainstay of gastronomic perfection deep in the Virginia countryside, in the tiny village of Washington about an hour west of D.C. Established in 1978 by self-taught chef Patrick O'Connell, its lavishly decorated rooms have been graced by kings and queens and presidents, yet everyone is treated as a special guest — one of its secrets to success. But success would not have come at all if it weren't for the sophistication and innovation of its kitchen (which relies on the freshness of its regional ingredients, much of which come from its own orchards, gardens, and farm), the matchless culinary skill that came from years of studying the methods of Europe's finest restaurants, or its meticulous attention to detail. No wonder Chef O'Connell has been called the pope of American cuisine; his Inn at Little Washington is nothing short of a place of epicurean pilgrimage.

10. "The Revenant"

Every other film that you'll find on this list would be considered a standard blockbuster by most, but Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant is the exception from the norm.

It seems that there was a significant audience that wanted to watch Leonardo DiCaprio suffer in the woods for two-and-a-half hours, but were unwilling to legally pay to do so. It didn't exactly have too much of a negative impact on the box office results, as the film still brought in over $500 million internationally by the time it was done with its big screen run.

9. "Finding Dory"

The year 2016 was a great one for animation - with titles like Zootopia, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Moana - but Andew Stanton's Finding Dory was the only one that wound up on this list of Torrented movies.

This is another case where the illegally downloaded versions of the feature didn't impact the film's box office take, as it was one of only three features to pass the $1 billion mark worldwide, but it seems that there was a big audience that wanted to watch the Pixar sequel at home before they officially could do so.

8. "Suicide Squad"

David Ayer's Suicide Squad wound up being one of the most successful blockbusters of the year, pulling in $746 million against its $175 million budget - but it wound up being one of the most popular titles to be Torrented as well.

The difference between this film and the previous two entries is that this is the first on this list that really got decimated by critics, and had seriously rough buzz going into theaters. We can't really say if this was an influential factor in the film being illegally downloaded, but it is a factor that will reappear on this list going forward. Speaking of which...

2016 saw a repositioning of the pieces on the geopolitical board, with shocks such as the rise of populism and rejection of globalism, Britons voting to leave the EU, the failed coup in Turkey, Russia's military intervention in Syria, the end of America's pivot to Asia, and so on.

But perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the November election of Donald Trump, whose "Make America Great Again" slogan could suggest a world with no global leader.

"The triumph of 'America first' as the primary driver of foreign policy in the world's only superpower marks a break with decades of US exceptionalism and a belief in the indispensability of US leadership, however flawed and uneven," Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer and Chairman Cliff Kupchan wrote in the firm's annual overview of top risks.

"With it ends a 70-year geopolitical era of Pax Americana, one in which globalization and Americanization were tightly linked, and American hegemony in security, trade, and promotion of values provided guardrails for the global economy," they continued. "In 2017, we enter a period of geopolitical recession."

We put together Eurasia Group's top 10 risks for 2017, along with its analysis of the risks and, as a bonus, a list of red herrings:

1. Independent America

President-elect Donald Trump's "America first" philosophy rejects the traditional Wilsonian approach to foreign policy centered on US-backed international alliances and institutions and instead sees multilateral institutions and international affairs as transactional. Rather than aiming for longer-term global order and common values, Trump believes the US should act on near-term national interests and should be more flexible in dealing with rapid shifts on the global stage.

This creates pockets of political risk. Chief among them, according to Eurasia Group: near-term chaos that comes from an absent superpower, broader weakening of institutional architecture, the rise of China and a growing potential for direct conflict with the US, and the fact that "Russia can act as a rogue and disrupter — and get away with it."

Source: Eurasia Group

2. China overreacts

2017 is a big year for the Communist Party of China. In autumn, the party will host the 19th National Congress, which will determine the top leadership and set up the country's political future.

"Two risks flow from the upcoming power consolidation," according to Eurasia Group. "First, because [Chinese President Xi Jinping] will be extremely sensitive to external challenges to his country's interests at a time when all eyes are on his leadership, the Chinese president will be more likely than ever to respond forcefully to foreign policy challenges. Spikes in US-China tensions are the likely outcome.

"Second, by prioritizing stability over difficult policy choices in the run-up to the party congress, Xi may unwittingly increase the chances of significant policy failures."

Source: Eurasia Group

3. A weaker Merkel

After years of strong German leadership in the EU, Chancellor Angela Merkel now faces various political and economic challenges including ongoing domestic dissatisfaction with the refugee crisis, corporate crises such as Deutsche Bank, and the rise of populism.

Heading into the September 2017 elections, she faces no serious opposition. However, she will need to appease far-right critics, which "will leave her a diminished figure," according to Eurasia Group.

Moreover, her position on the geopolitical front is disintegrating as well. And should National Front leader Marine Le Pen be elected president in France and call a referendum on EU membership, then "her government will become Merkel's antagonist."

Source: Eurasia Group

Taco Bell is serving up chicken nuggets and french fries — at least at one location. 

Irvine, California is not only home to the headquarters of the Mexican fast-food chain. It also serves as an area for Taco Bell to test new items that aren't currently available at most locations. 

When news broke that an Irvine Taco Bell location was serving as the company's test market for nacho-inspired fries and "crispy chicken chips," Business Insider was immediately intrigued. Fortunately, a reader who prefers to remain anonymous agreed to serve as a taste tester for us.

Here's what Taco Bell's takes on chicken nuggets and french fries taste like.

SEE ALSO: Taco Bell is finally serving loaded fries in the US — but there's a catch

The Taco Bell location is selling seasoned fries alone for 50 cents, with the optional add on of nacho cheese sauce for 25 cents more. For $1, you can order loaded fries smothered with all the toppings from the Nachos Supreme — nacho cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, and ground beef.

Also on the menu: Crispy Chicken Chips, which cost $1 for a pack of six and are served with nacho cheese sauce.

The slightly-seasoned fries are tasty on their own — but, once you add the toppings you run into problems.

"The problem with essentially using fries instead of chips as an edible vehicle for the Supreme toppings, is that the fries lose their crispness much more quickly than the chips," the tester told Business Insider.

"Also, with chips you can scoop…these had to be eaten with a fork to ensure you got some of the Supreme toppings in each bite," the tester continued. "This dish was a bit underwhelming and messy, with the seasoning of the fries getting lost under the sauciness of all the toppings, but for $1, a great value and an easy add-on item for guests."

Pretty much everyone is interested in learning what makes people tick.

Fortunately, there are no shortage of podcasts designed to cater to that interest — whether it's a short one-one-one chat about building good habits or an hour-long compilation of novel ideas.

Here are some of the best podcasts that help put life in perspective.

SEE ALSO: 15 books that will change the way you understand human behavior

TED Radio Hour

Each episode of TED Radio Hour, put on by NPR, unites several different TED talks around a common topic, even bringing in sounds from the actual TED stage.

The talks often approach the topic, which can be a question or idea, from varying perspectives. Recent topics include happiness, religion, giving, and mental well-being.

Though TED talks have received some criticism for watering down the science behind their research, the podcast provides an easy on-ramp for people looking to explore new ideas.

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin has written extensively on happiness — both her own and others' — and distills many of the big concepts in her weekly podcast, which she co-hosts with her sister, Elizabeth Craft.

Many of the episodes center around cultivating happiness through the building of good habits (and the avoidance of bad ones).

For something that is so elusive for many people, the co-hosts present happiness as something well within reach.

Hidden Brain

In Hidden Brain, host Shankar Vedantam guides listeners through their own cognitive missteps, biases, and blind spots. 

He reveals the many hard-to-see ways our decision making and judgment are influenced by various forces, such as our built-in fear of losing money and our tendency to romanticize the past.

There's a lot we don't know about the human brain, but Vedantam shows listeners that even what we do know can be almost impossible to notice.

Blackstone Vice Chairman and ace investor Byron Wien has unveiled his list of 10 surprises for 2017.

Wien believes these things have a better-than-50% chance of happening, but the average investor anticipates a less than 30% likelihood of occurring.

Wien started this tradition in 1986, when he was Morgan Stanley's top investment strategist, and he continued it when he joined Blackstone in 2009.

The predictions range from political (President-elect Donald Trump will step away from extreme positions) to financial (the 10-year yield will approach 4%).

Here they are:

1. Trump softens his tone considerably.

"Still brooding about his loss of the popular vote, Donald Trump vows to win over those who oppose him by 2020.  He moves away from his more extreme positions on virtually all issues to the dismay of some right wing loyalists."

"He insists, 'The voters elected me, not some ideology.' His unilateral actions throw policy staffers throughout the government into turmoil.  Virtually all of the treaties and agreements he vowed to tear up on his first day in office are modified, not trashed.  His wastebasket remains empty."

2. US economic growth tops 3% again.

"The combination of tax cuts on corporations and individuals, more constructive trade agreements, dismantling regulation of financial and energy companies, and infrastructure tax incentives pushes the 2017 real growth rate above 3% for the US economy. Productivity improves for the first time since 2014."

3. The S&P 500 rises to 2,500.

"The Standard & Poor’s 500 operating earnings are $130 in 2017 and the index rises to 2500 as investors become convinced the U.S. economy is back on a long-term growth path. Fears about a ballooning budget deficit are kept in the background. Will dynamic scoring reducing the budget deficit actually kick in?"

Aileen Adalid entered the corporate world at age 19 after graduating from De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines, with a degree in business management.

But the trilingual Philippines native quickly grew envious of the flexible lifestyles of "digital nomads" she met while freelancing on the side in Manila.

At 21, Adalid quit her entry-level job at Deutsche Bank — which paid just $300 per month — to transition to a life of perpetual travel.

For the next year, Adalid freelanced in graphic design, web design, SEO management, and online marketing, sustained largely by one stable client contract that earned her more than double her previous salary. The best part: The flexibility enabled her to travel frequently to places like France and Thailand.

In May 2014, Adalid partnered with a friend to start an online Amazon retail business called Adalid Gear, a health and outdoor accessories company, and relocated to Belgium.

She also revived her one-time teenage diary blog, I Am Aileen, fashioning it into a lifestyle and travel blog that has gained traction among online travel communities.

Adalid now earns about $5,000 a month from her online ventures, and she travels from her home base (now back in the Philippines) at least once a month to destinations throughout Europe and Asia.

You can follow her adventures on her blog, I Am Aileen, or through her Facebook or Instagram.

Adalid told Business Insider about cutting ties with the corporate world to chase after the "digital nomad" lifestyle, and finding a balance between traveling the world and running two successful ventures. Read on to find out how she did it. 

DON'T MISS: A 31-year-old who's been traveling the world for 5 years explains how she affords it

SEE ALSO: 14 things I learned when I quit my job to travel the world

Back in college, Adalid studied business management and had a combined year of training experience under her belt at huge multinational companies like Nestlé, Unilever, and Siemens.

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 In Belgium.

But after graduating college at 19 and spending two years working as a product controller at Deutsche Bank, she realized the corporate life wasn't for her. She was increasingly intrigued by both entrepreneurship and travel, so she left her job with about $600 in savings in April 2013.

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In Dubrovnik, Croatia.

"I started working as a remote freelance graphic designer, web developer, and marketing assistant taking on different projects but with a main stable client who employed me. My pay at this point was more than double of what I earned at my office job and I was able to control my time more for working as I started to travel around more."

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Ford just announced it will release a small, all-electric SUV by 2020.

Ford announced its intention to enter the electric SUV space at the same time it said it will scrap the plans for its $1.6 billion factory in Mexico. Instead, the automaker will release 13 electric vehicles over the next 5 years as part of a $4.5 billion investment.

One of those EVs will be an SUV with an estimated 300 mile range that will be sold in North America, Europe, and Asia, according to Ford.

Automakers are turning their attention to electric SUVs at a time where sedan sales are falling. As electric cars have yet to gain real traction — with them only accounting for roughly 1% of global auto sales — producing SUVs seems like the best way to trigger demand.

Here are 8 other electric SUVs coming to the market in four short years and everything we know about them:

SEE ALSO: Mercedes is building an electric SUV — and that should worry Tesla

1. Jaguar unveiled its I-PACE electric concept SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The car is serving as the basis for a production model slated to arrive in 2018.

Jaguar said its I-PACE can drive 220 miles on a single charge and accelerate to 60 mph in 4 seconds. There's no word on price yet, but it will likely fall in the luxury price range north of $50,000.

There are two touchscreen displays on the center console of the SUV concept. There's also a virtual screen instead of a traditional driver's instrument that can be controlled using buttons on the steering wheel.

You can get a more in-depth look at the Jaguar I-PACE SUV here.