Americans don't know much about investments in the US by sovereign wealth funds - the investment arms of foreign governments. But what they hear, they don't like, according to a poll by political-consulting firm Public Strategies.

By ratios ranging between 2 to 1 and 7 to 1, those polled opposed such investments in US auto makers, high-tech companies, banks, oil companies and ports. The purchases of small stakes in banking giant Citigroup. by government investment funds in Singapore, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, produced a similarly lopsided result: 56% opposed, compared with only 8% in favor.