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October 6, 2008 9:43:43 AM CDT

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Weak Dollar Draws Foreign Shoppers

Posted Nov 30, 07 9:46 AM CST in Business 

(Newser) – Foreigners are taking advantage of the weak US dollar to do their holiday shopping in the States, Time reports in a look at a double-edged trend. Even as American shoppers find the cost of imported goods soaring, international visitors are arriving in droves, and "they're mentioning the exchange rate more often," says one merchant.

Some shoppers arrive with just the clothes on their backs and empty suitcases, which they stuff with cheap booty. Thanks to cheap flights and the lack of sales tax, Minnesota's Mall of America has seen an influx of Icelanders. "They're power shopping here every day," says the sales director at a nearby hotel.

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Rachel Healy, left, and her sister Lorna Healy and other sisters (not pictured) of Cork, Ireland, take a carriage ride along Central Park South in New York Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. The Healy's are all pleased...   (Associated Press)
Colleen Dimmick, left, 21, walks with her mother Lesley Dimmick as they cross 5th Ave. in New York Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. They are visiting New York from New Castle, England for Colleen's birthday, but...   (Associated Press)
  (Getty Images)
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