New Ebola death, what millenials want and Algeria's deepening economic crisis

Goldman Sachs has reached a $5.1bn settlement with the US government and other agencies for mis-selling mortgage-backed securities in the run-up to the financial crisis, in a move that will wipe out most of its profits for the fourth quarter.

Goldman said it would pay a $2.4bn civil monetary penalty to the Department of Justice and make $875m in cash payments to various other agencies. The bank said it would also provide a total of $1.8bn in relief for distressed borrowers and underwater homeowners, financing for affordable housing, and support for other programmes to boost the housing sector. (FT)

In the news

Dimon: look on the bright side Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, urged investors to focus on the “pretty good” US economy as well as the “winners” from the collapse in commodities. The comments came as his bank kicked off the sector’s fourth-quarter earnings season with encouraging results. (FT)

Mayor on tour His gun-toting visit to Iraq last year drew comparisons — from some — to Winston Churchill. But newly published diplomatic correspondence sheds a less statesmanlike light on Boris Johnson’s activities during his foreign trip. Among other events, Foreign Office staff had to pick up a hotel bar tab and stop Mr Johnson from driving a sports car out of a showroom. (FT)

BHP takes $7bn hit BHP Billiton, the most valuable miner by market capitalisation, revealed a huge hit from the sharp fall in the oil price with a $7.2bn writedown on its extensive US shale assets. The asset impairment, which equates to $4.9bn after tax, is the largest announced by the Anglo-Australian group during a wrenching commodities downturn that is devastating the mining and energy sectors. (FT)

New Ebola death An Ebola death has been confirmed in Sierra Leone just hours after the World Health Organisation declared the west Africa outbreak over. (BBC)

Delayed oil projects total nears $400bn Among the major byproducts of the crude price collapse: mothballs. Energy groups have shelved nearly $400bn of spending on new oil and gas projects since prices plummeted. The development of some 68 major projects, or 27bn barrels of oil equivalent in reserves, has been put back as companies scramble to curtail costs and protect dividend payouts. (FT)

It's a big day for

Taiwan, which enters its last day of campaigning ahead of presidential and legislative elections tomorrow. Opinion polls predict that Tsai Ing-wen, a softly-spoken former law professor whose party leans towards Taiwanese independence, will be swept into office on the back of a wave of discontent with the current government’s pro-China policies. (FT)

US economy A bit of good news, bad news on the macro front, with new data expected to show that US retail sales climbed and industrial production fell in December. (FT)

Read our Weekahead section for more upcoming stories

Food for thought

What millenials want More than half of the workforce is made up of millennials and they are the least loyal employees a company can hire. Pension plans will not win their devotion; they expect companies to make it worth their while to come to work on any given day. One way to do this is to create a culture of ownership — offer them equity. (FT)

India’s selfie safety record At least 27 people died around the world while taking selfies last year, with about half the deaths occurring in India. The phenomenon has become so bad that police in Mumbai have identified more than a dozen “no selfie” zones, which will be closely monitored by authorities. (WaPo)

Who is running Algeria? Algeria is facing a deepening economic crisis due to falling oil revenues. Adding to concerns are questions about the ability of the country’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to govern — and whether he is still the one making the decisions. A recent failed attempt by a group of prominent allies to see the president further fuelled speculation about his health and who was governing the country. (FT)

Real estate’s party guy Developer Mike Meldman has made millions peddling fun. His real estate company, Discovery Land, had sales exceeding $1bn last year on properties he describes as luxury “frat houses for families”. “A lot of these guys who made a lot of money don’t have fun and don’t know how to have fun. We show them how to have fun,” said the 57-year-old. (WSJ)

Why ruthless people get ahead Don Draper in Mad Men. Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. When we think of success, we often picture rather brutal characters who will happily trample over others’ feelings in the pursuit of fame and fortune. Is this really the case in the modern workplace? (BBC)

Video of the day

How Islamist threat in Asia has grown Extremism has cast a shadow over south and central Asia for decades. Victor Mallet assesses the seriousness of the threat, whether east Asia is also vulnerable and whether the very idea of a modern, constitutional state in Asia is under attack. (FT)