What's driving FDI in the US

From the NY Times:

Several factors have propelled the surge of foreign money reaching the United States. The dollar’s weakness against the Japanese yen and European currencies makes American companies cheap for many foreigners looking to invest. The United States remains the world’s largest market, and buying an American company is typically the swiftest way in. And in the wake of the mortgage crisis, American companies are finding credit scarce, making many willing to sell assets to raise cash.




Not least, the United States is living on borrowed money, with the value of imports exceeding exports by more than $700 billion last year. Selling companies to foreigners is one step toward squaring the accounts.




Between 1998 and 2007, foreign companies paid more than $1.7 trillion for major stakes in American firms or to set up operations in the United States, according to the Commerce Department. More than five million Americans work for domestic affiliates of foreign companies.




In 2006, affiliates of foreign companies reinvested $65.4 billion of what they earned in the United States, according to a study by Professor Slaughter underwritten by the Organization for International Investment, a Washington lobbying firm financed by foreign companies. They paid more than $335 billion in wages and salaries, for an average annual compensation of $66,042, nearly a third higher than the average private-sector job.