When a group of Austrian executives landed in New York recently, they were eager to tell U.S. bankers, consultants and asset managers about their country's strong economy. But they worried no one knew where they were coming from—literally.

"When Americans hear the word Austria, they think of the emperor—depending on whom you ask, also of Nazis—of good pastries and the waltz," says Claus Raidl, president of the Austrian National Bank. "That's a distorted image of Austria."

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