History's greatest empires covered a fifth of the world, ruled hundreds of millions of people, and lasted anywhere from 100 years to over a millennium.

Empire, which comes from the Latin "imperare" meaning "to command," is a collection of states or ethnic groups united under one ruler or oligarchy.

It is a term that has been used to describe recent US foreign policy. Wrote filmmaker Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick in a recent USA Today op-ed: "Obama is about to enter his second term as heir of George W. Bush's imperial strategy unless his latest foreign policy appointments signal significant change."

Each empire seemed unstoppable for an age, but in the end they were all consigned to history.

The Portuguese Empire reached 4 million square miles at its height in 1815.

Data compiled at Wikipedia.

The Abbasid Caliphate covered 4.29 million square miles at its height in 850.

Data compiled at Wikipedia.

The French Colonial Empire covered 5 million square miles at its peak in 1938.

Data compiled at Wikipedia.

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Oscar nominees like Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman gathered at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles Monday for the 85th annual Academy Awards nominations luncheon.

The lunch is one of the highest-profile get-togethers for Oscar nominees before the awards themselves on February 24 and everyone got all dolled up.

See inside the Oscar Nominations Luncheon.

Harvey Weinstein was in attendance to support his films "Django Unchained" and "Silver Linings Playbook," while Naomi Watts is up for a Best Actress award for her role in "The Impossible."

"Lincoln" director Steven Spielberg and "Les Misérables" star Anne Hathaway listened intently to a fellow nominee.

Tim Burton showed off his latest accessory: a sling.

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Mongolia is arguably experiencing the biggest gold rush of the 21st century—yet  large swaths of its population remain extremely poor.

Unemployed herdsmen are among those who have turned to gold mining in an effort to eke out a living. And soaring demand for gold from neighboring China has got many locals thinking they could make a fortune.

These miners, referred to as ninja miners because they often work at night, and because they carry green pans that resemble the shells of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, dig with the most rudimentary tools. They also aren't given a license because the government says they destroy the environment.

Some 100,000 people are said to work in the unregulated mines and earn as little as $8 a day, according to the BBC.

Ninja miners are constantly shoved onto smaller pieces of land by mining giants. Most recently locals have been protesting Oyu Tolgoi, a copper-and-gold mine that is the biggest foreign-investment project in the country.

Mongolia is experiencing what is arguably the biggest gold rush of the 21st century.

Source: AlJazeera English

Unemployed herdsmen have taken to mining in an effort to make ends meet.

They are called Ninja miners because of the green pans they carry that resemble turtle shells and because they work into the night.

Source: Reuters

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Many commentators are freaking out about a new Barron's headline celebrating the arrival (actually return) of the Dow Jones Industrial Average passing 14,000.

We'll refrain from singling any one out.

But the belief is that the following from Barron's means the market is about to tank: "We told you so. In October, we predicted the Dow would pass its 14,165 record by early this year. Now we're just 1% short. Expect a breakthrough soon. Here's what happens after that."

More generally, there are people who get nervous any time there's an article talks about a new bull market, or how everyone's into stocks, or how we've just breached a new era.

Basically, there are a lot of people who reflexively get negative, just because people have turned bearish.

As Josh Brown has noted, this so-called "headline" or "magazine cover" risk is total nonsense. A magazine cover is just a magazine cover. A headline is just a headline. A big benchmark is just a big benchmark.

We went through the history of the Dow, from the 1960s to today, to prove why this is complete hogwash.

(Many thanks to Barry Ritholtz and, again, Josh Brown for digging up some of the "deader" of the dead trees...)

For the sake of this feature, we can trace the first headline risk debunking to the May 31, 1963 issue of Time. It talked about a rising US economy.

Ok, stocks declined for about two months after that. Then they went up for a good while.

The Dow hit 1,000 for the first time in November 1972.

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Want to know where you're supposed to work at Goldman Sachs?

There's an app for that.  And a quiz, too.

The investment banking giant has just released its recruiting iPhone app and new careers quiz to help candidates determine where they might want to work at the firm.

The "Explore Goldman Sachs: Careers Quiz" gives a bunch of scenario-based questions for you to answer.  Based on your responses, it lists three areas of the bank that might be the best fit for you.  

We took the quiz (it takes just a few minutes) and our top matches were global investment research, operations and human capital management. 

We also downloaded Goldman's new recruiting iPhone app.  It helps students view campus events schedule, measure their progress in the recruiting process, view the careers blog and company Twitter feed and sign up for careers emails. 

Imagine you're working an at architecture firm building a large ferris wheel. Choose which tasks you would prefer to execute.

If your friend launched a start-up, which position would suit you?

Pick which role you would take while working on your boss's charity initiative.

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Keyboard covers for iPads are nothing new.

But something about this one from Logitech, for the iPad Mini, seems truly sleek and modern.

Maybe it's just the constraints of the form factor – all those keys in that small space.

Or maybe it's just that  the iPad Mini is pretty much the perfect tablet computer, according to lots of gadget reviewers, and this keyboard has me believing I could pick one up and leave all heavier computing devices behind.

That must be it.

Or, I'm nuts and it's really ugly.

Thoughts?

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Venture capitalists and investors are continuing to pour money into startups.

In fact, there is a vast number of startups that are worth billions, The New York Times' Quentin Hardy reports.

"An unprecedented number of high technology start-ups, easily 25 and possibly exceeding 40, are valued at $1 billion or more," Hardy writes.

"Many employees are quietly getting rich, or at least building a big cushion against a crash, as they sell shares to outside investors."

But the owners of these companies say the high valuations make them a bit nervous. That's because bigger valuations mean higher expectations. 

As Hardy reports, there are a few reasons for these high valuations:

• Lower interest rates 
• Wealthy, private investors are putting more money into startups
• Many of these high-valued companies sell products and services directly to other businesses

Palantir joined the billion-dollar club in 2011

Data company Palantir Technologies raised a $70 million Series F round in 2011 at a $2.5 billion valuation. 

In 2012, Palantir raised an additional $56 million in new funding, bringing it's total funding to $301 million.

Spotify is reportedly raising a $100 million round at $3 billion valuation

The music company raised $100 million in June 2011 from Kleiner Perkins, Accel and DST, giving it a $1 billion valuation. 

In 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported that Spotify is in the middle of a $100 million financing round that could bring the company's valuation to $3 billion.

Square is valued at $3.25 billion

Jack Dorsey's mobile payment solution, Square, is another billion-dollar startup.

In 2012, Square raised a $200 million Series D round with participation from Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks. Now, the company is worth $3.25 billion. 

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Looking back at my career, the most important decision I've made so far –– the one that would set me up for practically every job I've held over the last five years –– was to turn down a job offer after college. 

We were just beginning to feel the heat of the Great Recession, and journalism jobs were few and far between. The flagship paper in my home state just laid off half its staff, and the entire business looked like one big dead-end.

Somehow, I wound up with an offer from a local newspaper anyway. It was a good one, too, one that would surely keep me fed and with a roof over my head while I launched my career. 

But I was antsy. I wasn't ready to throw myself behind a cubicle and commit myself to the 9 to 5 grind just yet. 

It was with careful consideration and great regret, I wrote in an email to the editor, that I would be turning down the job offer. 

Then I booked a flight to Chile and never looked back. 

I had two months to save for the trip and about $1,000 to my name.

I worked my way through college and almost always paid my rent with a cold sweat running down my back and a massive sigh of relief.

With some meager savings and checks cashed from graduation gifts, I had about $1,000 to work with. After spending $400 on a one-way flight, I had $600 left.

For five months in Chile, I estimated I could scrape by with about $420/month (way, way too low, in retrospect) for a total of $2,100.

I took a summer job at a local library that paid $8/hour, freelanced for a local newspaper and spent my weekends pet- and babysitting for whatever I could get (about $100 if I was lucky). At the time, I was still paying $400 in rent and about $100 on car insurance.

By August, I had successfully added another $1,500 to my bank account.

It was go time.

I did have an internship lined up in Santiago –– but it was unpaid and offered no perks.

When I told my 16-year-old brother all I had waiting for me in Santiago was an unpaid internship at an obscure website, he told me the truth: "You're out of your mind."

Maybe he had a point, but there were two things I that knew for (almost) certain:

1) Reporting from a foreign country would give me the kind of experience a hiring manager would appreciate in a budding journalist.

2) And that grassroots publications are far more likely to give writers freedom to cover what interests them –– something I'd have trouble finding as a beat reporter.

Santiago was far more expensive than I'd expected, but I managed to find a room for $180/month.

Anyone who's traveled through South America will tell you it has one huge advantage over Europe –– the lower cost of living. Unfortunately, Santiago is one of the more expensive cities on the continent, and if I wanted to live in a safe neighborhood, my dollars weren't going to stretch as far as I'd hoped. 

I stayed with a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-college-professor for my first two weeks, but after that I set out to find something more permanent. I managed to find a decent apartment for $180/month –– less than half what I would have spent back home. For that, I got a room in a three-bedroom doorman building and a roommate who let me come and go as I pleased.

If you're ever looking for digs in Chile, here's the site I used: http://www.compartodepto.cl/

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Hundreds of young professionals, including a bunch of Wall Street traders and a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, partied last night at a swanky rooftop hotel in downtown Manhattan.

It was all for charity, though.

Autism Speaks to Young Professionals (AS2YP) hosted one of its popular charity galas at Ph-D at the Dream Hotel.  

With tickets starting at $100, guests drank, enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and listened to a DJ, while raising funds and awareness for autism — a disorder that affects one in every 88 children.

We checked out the event last night and have included highlights in the slides that follow. 

We also ran into a bunch of floor traders at the event. For many of them, autism hits really close to home.  

"They're a supportive group. I have a child with autism and I really don't have to ask twice. People come out to support us," Danny Ryan, AS2YP co-chair and NYSE senior floor official told Business Insider.

The NYSE traders have a reputation for supporting each other through challenging times. 

Ryan told us that just last month when a NYSE floor trader was badly injured in the ferry boat accident in the Financial District, they held a small event to raise some money. Even traders who haven't been on the floor in a decade came down to contribute.  

"It's a family. Guys really, really do feel like we take care of our own. As a father of a child with autism, it's very comforting knowing that when you're going through this battle you're trying to do things to help others. These guys will always have your back. I'm very lucky." 

While AS2YP events are a way for young professionals to get involved in charity early on and raise funds, it's much more about educating the next generation of parents. 

"I'm a parent of a nine-year-old son with autism," committee member Phil Quartuccio, managing member of Illustro Trading said. "It's absolutely not about fundraising at this level, it's awareness." 

This is AS2YP's fourth year hosting these galas.  If you missed it last night, we've got all the photos you need right here. 

Hundreds of people filled the PH-D rooftop lounge. It was an awesome location.

It had two bars and gorgeous panoramic views of the New York skyline.

Guests at the party last night were given the signature Autism Speaks blue puzzle piece logo to wear on the lapels.

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This Sunday, advertisers tried to pull out all the stops for their $4 million 30-second Super Bowl commercial slots. That often meant shelling out even more money to secure a huge celebrity to star in the ad.

But was it worth it?

An ad isn't just about creating a good show, but making sure consumers remember what the commercial was actually for.

It has only been a few days, but can you remember which company's ads these huge celebrities starred in? You might remember Amy Poehler's spot, but what did fellow SNL alum Tracy Morgan plug in the big game? It's all about brand recognition.

Can you remember the Super Bowl ad Amy Poehler was in?

The recent Golden Globe host asked a lot of inane questions in Best Buy's "Ask Amy" ad.

Can you remember the Super Bowl ad Bar Refaeli was in?

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It seems like every year architects and engineers push boundaries and shatter records to erect the new tallest building.

The Burj Khalifa was named the tallest building in the world in 2010 at 2,717 feet, and the London Shard's observation tower opened on the tower's 72nd floor this week.

But what do the views look like from the tops of these buildings?

From the Burj to the Tokyo Sky Tree, we found photos taken from the tops of several of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. Be warned: this is not for those with a fear of heights.

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai rises 2,722 feet above the city.

The Tokyo Sky Tree in Tokyo, Japan, tops out at 2,080 feet.

Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, rises 1,671 feet above the city.

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Women make up half of the workforce, yet they're still hugely underrepresented on corporate boards. 

"There must be cohesiveness on the board to get the work moving forward," Carol Evans, CEO of the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), told us. "Women add their own perspectives, experience and knowledge to the board, which cannot be found any other way than by having gender diversity."

And having women on boards just makes good business sense. Research shows that companies perform better when they have more female executives.

To identify which companies most support women in leadership roles, NAFE asked for nominations from the public, which required applicants to answer more than 200 questions about female representation at their companies.

Of the 200 applications submitted, NAFE narrowed the list down to the top 50, which is featured in this month's issue of Working Mother.

Thanks to NAFE for also sharing the list with Business Insider.

23. IBM

Headquartered in Armonk, N.Y., IBM has a global workforce of 441,912 employees and 30 percent of them are women.

Percent of corporate executives who are women: 23 percent.

"Women comprise 18 percent of the general managers at this technology company, and many take part in a forward-thinking initiative that provides them with strategic assignments, helping them cultivate clients, strengthen their profit-and-loss capabilities and lead more effectively."

Source: NAFE

22. HSBC USA

Headquartered in New York, N.Y., HSBC USA has a workforce of 24,400 employees and 59 percent of them are women.

Percent of corporate executives who are women: 17 percent

21. General Mills

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., General Mills has a workforce of 16,939 employees and 40 percent of them are women.

Percent of corporate executives who are women: 38 percent

"Ninety-six percent of female employees surveyed at General Mills said they would recommend the company as a good place to work."

Source: NAFE

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Morgan Stanley's Adam Parker is one of the most bearish strategist on Wall Street.  He expects the S&P 500 to fall to 1,434 by the end of the year.

But this is not to say the firm doesn't expect some stocks to do well.

Morgan Stanley recently published their list of Best Ideas from around the world.

The list included seven stocks from North America.

Calpine

Ticker:
CPN

Price Target:
$29.50

P/E ratio:
14.8

EPS CAGR:
20.1%

Industry:
Energy

On January 24, the Public Utility Commission of Texas held a meeting in to review two approaches to putting in place an "operating reserve demand curve," which would improve margins during tight supply-demand periods. This would greatly improve the supply-demand economics for energy supplier Calpine.

Source: Morgan Stanley

News Corp.

Ticker:
NWSA

Price Target:
$32.00

P/E ratio:
15

EPS CAGR:
19.2%

Industry:
Media

Ever since News Corp. parted ways with it's less profitable businesses, like Dow Jones, it's been performing better than ever before. Things going to really get a boost mid-2013, when it sheds the discount it's historically always traded at.

Source: Morgan Stanley

Canadian Pacific Railways

Ticker:
CP

Price Target:
$115.92

P/E ratio:
18.5

EPS CAGR:
21.7%

Industry:
Transportation

Despite a recent run on the stock, Morgan Stanley remains confident that the company will bounce back. The Canadian Pacific Railways' management's guidance indicates at least 40% EPS growth, conservative estimate. At the top end, an operating ratio of costs to revenue of 63% is possible, which would imply more than 30% EPS CGAR into 2016, far above other large cap transport companies.

Source: Morgan Stanley

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Fast food companies serve millions of Americans every day. 

With all the food that busy workers serve, stuff is bound to go wrong sometimes. We searched Reddit and other websites to find the most shocking fast food fails.

Some menu items were missing key ingredients. Other customers found disgusting surprises in their food.

Note: Business Insider could not confirm the circumstances of these photos.

McDonald's gave this customer half a chicken patty instead of a chicken select.

Source: Reddit

The cheese on this burger is misplaced.

Source: Reddit

This person's breakfast burrito includes an expiration date.

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Tokyo is back on top as the most expensive city in the world, according to new data from the Economist Intelligence Unit.

In the company's new worldwide cost of living survey, the Japanese city has outpaced last year's winner Zurich for the undesirable ranking as the world's priciest city. This is nothing new for Tokyo, which has only dropped below the number one spot a handful of times in the last 20 years.

Zurich sank from number one to number seven on the list, declining a whopping 39 percentage points from last year due to a weakening Swiss Franc. Geneva also didn't fare well, seeing a steep decline from a number three ranking in 2012 to barely making the list at number 10 this year.

The survey calculates cost of living based on prices for products and services, including food, clothing, rent, and transportation. Each cost of living index is set in relation to New York's, which is fixed at a base of 100.

For comparison's sake, New York City was #27 on the list

Last year, New York City ranked #47. The current cost of living index is 100.

Loaf of white bread:

• Today: $7.41
• 5 years ago: $6.60

Bottle of table wine:

• Today: $11.10
• 5 years ago: $10.02

1 liter unleaded petrol:

• Today: $1.16
• 5 years ago: $0.79

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

#10 Geneva

Last year, Geneva ranked #3. The current cost of living index is 124.

Loaf of white bread:

• Today: $5.63
• 5 years ago: $4.87
  

Bottle of table wine:

• Today: $8.19
• 5 years ago: $7.62

1 liter unleaded petrol:

• Today: $2.04
• 5 years ago: $1.47

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

#9 Caracas

Caracas ranked #34 last year. The current cost of living index is 126.

Loaf of white bread:

• Today: $9.40
• 5 years ago: $2.25
  

Bottle of table wine:

• Today: $18.14
• 5 years ago: $4.32

1 liter unleaded petrol:

• Today: $0.02
• 5 years ago: $0.02

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

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Americans reportedly spent $6 billion on airline fees in 2012, and if this new report from Airfarewatchdog is any indication, we're only going to shell out more this year. 

From surcharges on extra-heavy luggage to in-flight cocktails and booking by telephone, it's a wonder they haven't started charging for bathroom service, too.

Here's a breakdown of the airlines with the top 10 highest fees*:

*Each total includes fees for booking, one checked bag, one carry-on bag, overweight and oversized bags, changing flights, advanced seat selection, premium seats and perks, unaccompanied minors, pets, food and drink, and blankets and pillows.

We then highlighted four of the most commonly used fees.

A carry-on bag will cost you $75 on Allegiant Air.

Total possible fees: $558

First checked bag: $15-$75 per segment

Booking fee: $10/segment online, or $10/segment + $15/direction by phone

Advanced seat selection: $1-$75/segment

In-flight snacks: $2-$13

Takeaway: If you're traveling Allegiant, pack light. Allegiant is the only airline on the list besides Spirit to make passengers pay up for traveling with a carry-on, a $10-$75 charge per segment.

JetBlue will charge you $20 to book over the phone.

Total possible fees: $579

First checked bag: $0

Booking fee: $20 by phone or in person

Advanced seat selection: $0

In-flight snacks: Up to $6 for snacks or $12 for drinks

Takeaway: JetBlue launched a new unlimited pass in August for passengers who frequent their terminals, which allots them one free checked bag. But watch out after that — the charge for a second checked bag is $40 and jumps to $75 for every bag after that.

Air Canada makes $46 off seats with the best views.

Total possible fees: $597

First checked bag: $25

Booking fee: $0 

Advanced seat selection: $0-31 per direction for standard seats, $0-46 for preferred seats

In-flight snacks: $3-7 for food, $6-7 for drinks

Takeaway: Check the Air Canada website before booking your flight. The airline hosted a 50 percent off sale on some routes in 2012 and is known to post weekly deals for flyers looking for cheap fares.

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Karma is a company offering a novel take on what a mobile hotspot should be.

Karma's device costs $79 and offers a reasonably-priced pay-as-you-go 4G data connection with no subscription or contract.

Click here to go hands-on with Karma >

Furthermore, your hotspot remains open for other people to connect to if they want. Every time a new individual shares your connection, you get 100 MB of free data and they get 100 MB of their own data.

At no point will a stranger's data usage affect your own. You're simply sharing a connection, not the data allowance. Additionally their connection will be throttled to ensure that you, as owner of the hotspot, don't even see a loss of bandwidth.

To prevent people from gaming this system, people are required to log in with their Facebook accounts before being able to use a Karma hotspot.

You can top off your data at a flat rate of $14 per GB.

We've been using it lately and have been really pleased at how painless it was to set up and how speedy and reliable the connection is.

If you're intrigued, then check out Karma's coverage map here.

Until then...

Here's the device itself – it's extremely lightweight and fits right in your hand.

There's a USB port on the back for charging.

And the lights across the front let you know that it's on and working.

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Last month, we spent a few days driving the Platinum version of the 2013 Escalade, the fully outfitted luxury SUV that starts at $83,540.

It's a luxurious boat of a car, and was significantly more comfortable for our trip from New York to Washington, D.C. and back, than a crowded bus.

This is the third generation since the SUV was introduced in 1999, and we liked a lot about it. But when compared to the latest models of competing luxury SUVs, it loses out.

That's because Cadillac is getting ready to release the next generation Escalade, and the car we drove is rather old hat.

Nonetheless, sales of the SUV have remained steady, according to Todd Brown, who leads Escalade marketing, a good sign for a car near the end of its run.

But to compete with the new offerings in a competitive market, including the excellent brand new Range Rover and fully redesigned Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, the Escalade needs a few big updates.

Rather than a full breakdown of what we thought of this Escalade, here is what we hope to see in the next generation.

Based on spy photos of the next Escalade obtained by Car And Driver, the basic shape of the SUV won't change much.

[Source: Car And Driver]

That's a good thing: It's a classic, recognizable look.

While the interior of the 2013 model is nice, it could use some updates.

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The Chinese New Year begins on February 10 and the Chinese have begun preparing for the festival at home and in Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and India. 

China has already begun to witness "chunyun" or a 40-day migration of students and migrant workers to their home for the New Year holiday.

This year marks the year of the snake. Analysts will be watching the spending patterns of consumers to gauge the economic recovery in China.

Millions of Chinese travel from cities to their homes for the Chinese Lunar New Year that begins February 10.

Source: Voice of America

The annual spring migration is called "chunyun" and is said to last 40 days.

Source: Voice of America

There are expected to be 210 million trips made by train, 29 million by plane, and 820,000 buses operating during the rush.

Source: CCTV

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We hosted our Social Commerce Summit on Feb. 6.

To kick off the conference, our BI Intelligence team—Marcelo Ballvé, Alex Cocotas, and I—put together a deck on the current trends in e-commerce and social media.

We've posted the deck here. We hope you enjoy it.

Click here to download a PDF version of the deck→

Click here to download a PowerPoint version of the deck→

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