China lends Cuba a helping hand
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 7 April 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The US and Iran rejected each other’s peace proposals, EU officials are urging governments to avoid excessive support to offset surging energy prices, and the value of buyouts by private equity groups fell by more than a third in the first quarter of the year. Plus, Cuba is offsetting power blackouts and shortages with the help of soaring imports of solar technology from China.
Mentioned in this podcast:
US and Iran reject each other’s proposals to end war
EU warns capitals against turning energy crunch into fiscal crisis
Private equity buyouts slump as AI fears and war dent dealmaking
Power-starved Cuba deepens reliance on Chinese solar tech
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and edited by Marc Filippino, and produced by Saffeya Ahmed and Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann. Our executive producer is Topher Forhecz. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s Global Head of Audio. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:04.5 | Today is Tuesday, April 7th, and this is your FT News Briefing. |
| 0:08.6 | The global energy crisis is causing fiscal concerns in the European Union, |
| 0:13.0 | and private equity buyouts hit a rough patch. |
| 0:15.6 | Plus, Cuba's power supply is in a critical situation, |
| 0:18.7 | and the country is turning to China for help. |
| 0:21.1 | I'm Mark Filipino, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:32.1 | The U.S. and Iran rejected each other's ceasefire proposals yesterday. |
| 0:36.5 | Iran is demanding a few things, the permanent |
| 0:38.7 | end to war, the lifting of sanctions, and a, quote, protocol for ships to pass through the |
| 0:43.4 | Strait of Hormuz safely. That's all according to Iranian state media. U.S. President |
| 0:48.2 | Donald Trump said Iran made a, quote, significant proposal to end the conflict, but it wasn't |
| 0:53.0 | enough for Washington. |
| 0:57.2 | He added that Tehran had been negotiating in good faith. |
| 1:02.1 | Tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern time is Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Ramos. Trump warned on Monday that, quote, the entire country can be taken out in one night. |
| 1:16.0 | The European Union is worried about countries turning the global energy crisis into a fiscal one. EU officials are urging governments to avoid what they describe as |
| 1:21.3 | excessive support to offset energy prices, things like subsidies, tax cuts, and price caps. |
| 1:27.9 | Brussels wants to avoid a repeat of the 2022 energy crisis caused by Russia's full-scale invasion |
| 1:32.9 | of Ukraine. |
| 1:33.8 | That led to rampant inflation and widening deficits. |
| 1:37.1 | Here to tell us more is the FTs Brussels Bureau Chief Henry Foy. |
| 1:40.0 | Hey, Henry. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Forhecz Topher, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Forhecz Topher and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.