Norway's Giant Fund Buys $1.2 Billion in SpaceX Shares
Norway has the biggest sovereign wealth fund in the world. It is called Norges. This fund buys shares in companies. Now it has bought $1.2 billion in shares of SpaceX. SpaceX is a space company. It makes rockets.
The fund made a lot of money this year. In six months, it made 160 billion euros in profit. This is a very big number. Some of this money goes to people in Norway. The fund helps pay for things the country needs.
The fund's shares have gone up by 16%. This means the fund now has more value than before. Buying SpaceX shares was a big bet. SpaceX is a private company, so it does not sell shares to everyone.
The fund also owns shares in other big companies. Some of these companies are on the Italian stock market, called Piazza Affari. The fund picked its 10 most important companies there.
Vocabulary15 words
- sovereign wealth fund
- money a country saves and invests
- profit
- money you make after costs
- shares
- small parts of a company you can own
- rocket
- a machine that flies into space
- billion
- a thousand million
- invest
- put money into something to make more money
- stock market
- a place where people buy and sell shares
- citizen
- a person who lives in a country
- value
- how much something is worth
- bet
- a risky choice you hope works well
- private company
- a company not open to all buyers
- fund
- a big pool of money used to invest
- company
- a business that sells things
- important
- very useful or big
- grow
- get bigger
Quiz
Answer key
1. $1.2 billion 2. A space company that makes rockets 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Norway has the biggest _____ wealth fund in the world.
It has bought $1.2 _____ in shares of SpaceX.
SpaceX makes _____.
In six months, the fund made 160 billion euros in _____.
Some of this money goes to _____ in Norway.
The fund's shares have gone up by _____%.
SpaceX is a _____ company.
The fund also owns shares in other big _____.
Some companies are on the Italian _____ market.
The fund picked its 10 most _____ companies there.