This trend helps Daimler price its vehicles attractively to foreign buyers because its revenues are generated in foreign currencies and the resulting additional foreign sales help to raise overall margins.

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As shown in the second table below, the ten largest of these firms generated 42% of their 2003 revenue outside the U.S. Aided by a weak dollar (the same amount of sales in foreign currencies now gets translated into more U.S. dollars), foreign sales rose 17% in 2003, versus 7% for domestic revenue.

FORBES

That not only makes Japanese goods more affordable to foreign buyers, but also boosts the earnings of Japanese firms that rely on foreign sales.

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