Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

Good morning. Goldman is preparing one of its biggest-ever rounds of job cuts, a warm winter is saving Europe and thousands of Bolsonaro supporters storm government buildings in Brazil’s capital. Here’s what people are talking about.

It’s going to be a nerve-wracking few days for Goldman Sachs employees. The firm is planning to shed as many as 3,200 positions starting from mid-week, with more than a third of cuts set to come from its core trading and banking units. Why such a big number? Partly because headcount jumped 34% since the end of 2018 and Goldman largely set aside its annual exercise of cutting underperformers during the pandemic. Broader industry trends like a slowdown in merger activity and lower asset prices — as well as an uncertain outlook for markets and the economy — are also prompting the US bank to reduce costs.