The U.S. is on sale. And in New York City, some of the price tags are marked in euros.
The number of international tourists who came to the city last year grew by 20%, to 8.5 million, according to research by consulting firm Global Insight for NYC & Co., the city's official marketing and tourism organization. Many of those visitors came from Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. And no wonder, with the euro having gained about 12% against the dollar over the past 12 months. On Feb. 28, a day after Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke talked about further interest rate cuts, the dollar traded at an all-time low against the euro, $1.52 to €1.