In a sign of these struggling economic times, more than a few New York businesses are making it clear that money is money, whatever the currency. Reuters spoke to a few business owners who explained why they are open to moneys from foreign lands. more ›

The upside to the weak U.S. dollar? NYC made $28 billion from tourists last year. The Mayor announced that tourism to NYC was at record highs, with 46 million people visiting the Big Apple. Of the 46 million tourists, 8.5 million were from other countries, which is another high. From Mayor Bloomberg's speech:

This incredible surge puts us well on our way to reaching our goal of drawing 50 million annual visitors by the year 2015. And it's helping to bolster our local businesses even as the economy is slowing down nationwide....The impact of those dollars reverberated in every sector of our economy: from our neighborhood shops and restaurants to our hotels - which sold a record 22.8 million rooms, to arts and cultural institutions. In fact, City-owned cultural institutions across the five boroughs saw a combined increase of 855,000 visitors since 2006.