4th Thursday)
Independence Day (July 4th) – day of picnics
Martin Luther's King Day (Jan. 3rd Monday) – assassinated (1968), to win civil rights
President's Day (Feb. 22nd) – George Washington, first President of the U.S. Memorial Day (May 4th Monday) - American honour the dead of all wars
Labour Day (Sept. 1st Monday) - for the nation’s working people
Columbus' Day (Oct. 12th)
Veterans' Day (Nov. 11th) - in memory of those who had served in WWI.
 modern holidays: Valentine's Day, Halloween

BUSINESS
 banking: 10,800 banks (1995)
 export 749,4 billion (1995)
import 575,9 billion
 GDP: 6,7 trillion
 Rate of Increase: 2,3 (1993)
3,5 (1994)
2,0 (1995)
approx. 5 (Clinton)
 labour force: 1,23 mio.
 farming, forestry, fishing: 2,9%
 per capita income (annually): 21,809 $
 U.S. farms: 2,07 mio.
 average ha per farm: 187,6
 agriculture: import 30,000 mio.
export 5,800 mio.

TRADE
 exported commodities: rice, cotton, wheat, soybeans, tobacco, tractors, textile machinery, printing machinery, vehicles, chemicals, textiles.
 imported commodities: natural rubber, tin, industrial diamonds, coffee, cocoa, tea, nickel, cobalt, chromium, asbestos, manganese.
 U.S. trade turnover is the highest in the world
 agricultural products are 25% of export
 trading partners: Canada, Latino America, Western Europe, Japan

TRANSPORT
 shipping, railways, road transport, civil aviation

MEDIA
The first amendment to the Constitution prohibits Congress from making any law that interferes with the freedom of the press and this freedom has been vigorously guaranteed.

THE PRESS
 there are operating two American news services world-wide
1) the Associated Press (AP)
2) United Press International (VPI)
 magazines: US Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Time (circulation world-wide, more than 6 billion copies)

TELEVISION AND RADIO
 over 98% of American homes have TV sets
 more than 900 commercial TV stations
 big private national TV networks: ABC, NBC, CBS , CNN
 prime time is from 7,30 p.m.