We are happy to release the beta version of a new section: tax revenues by state and tax type since 1994. Take a look and let us know if you find any issues.
Official US Holidays 2011
Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the following public holidays for Federal employees. Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a non-workday — Saturday or Sunday — the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).
| Friday, December 31, 2010* | New Year’s Day |
| Monday, January 17 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Monday, February 21** | Washington’s Birthday |
| Monday, May 30 | Memorial Day |
| Monday, July 4 | Independence Day |
| Monday, September 5 | Labor Day |
| Monday, October 10 | Columbus Day |
| Friday, November 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thursday, November 24 | Thanksgiving Day |
| Monday, December 26*** | Christmas Day |
* January 1, 2011 (the legal public holiday for New Year’s Day), falls on a Saturday. For most Federal employees, Friday, December 31, 2010, will be treated as a holiday for pay and leave purposes. (See 5 U.S.C. 6103(b).)
** This holiday is designated as "Washington’s Birthday" in section 6103(a) of title 5 of the United States Code, which is the law that specifies holidays for Federal employees. Though other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is our policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.
*** December 25, 2011 (the legal public holiday for Christmas Day), falls on a Sunday. For most Federal employees, Monday, December 26, will be treated as a holiday for pay and leave purposes. (See section 3(a) of Executive order 11582, February 11, 1971.)
Source: United States Office of Personnel Management
Updated Production of Minerals by Country
Mineral production charts and other mineral statistics refreshed with the latest USGS numbers.
A New Bubble in Commodity Prices
A quick glance at the commodity price index in our historical commodity prices section strongly suggests that a new bubble is forming. The graph below shows the price index for the past 15 years. The value for October 2010 is about the same as the value for December 2007. Note though that the index reached a similar high in April 2010, so it is also possible that commodity prices may fluctuate up and down for a while.
A clearer picture emerges if we look at the price of cotton over the past 25 years.
Cotton price is at an all-time high, at a level higher than the one it reached in May 1995.
Sugar Prices in Europe
The absurdities of the European system of sugar subsidies are highlighted today in a New York Times article. Rampant fraud and corruption plague a byzantine system of rules and regulations created to support a program that primarily benefits large multinational corporations. Because of the subsidies, consumers in the European Union pay an average retail price of $0.63 per pound, while the global average is only about $0.36 per pound.
The historical trend of the European wholesale import price can be studied in further detail in our commodities section. Click on the graph below to manipulate and download the data.
Official US Holidays 2010
The table below shows the list of public federal holidays for 2010. Note that Friday December 31, 2010 is also a holiday since January 1, 2011 falls on a Saturday.
| Friday, January 1 | New Year’s Day |
| Monday, January 18 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Monday, February 15 | Washington’s Birthday |
| Monday, May 31 | Memorial Day |
| Monday, July 5 | Independence Day |
| Monday, September 6 | Labor Day |
| Monday, October 11 | Columbus Day |
| Thursday, November 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thursday, November 25 | Thanksgiving Day |
| Friday, December 24 | Christmas Day |
The source for the list of public holidays is the United States Office of Personnel Management
2009 US Holidays
The following table shows the official United States federal holidays for 2009.
| Thursday, January 1 | New Year’s Day |
| Monday, January 19 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Monday, February 16 | Washington’s Birthday |
| Monday, May 25 | Memorial Day |
| Friday, July 3 | Independence Day |
| Monday, September 7 | Labor Day |
| Monday, October 12 | Columbus Day |
| Wednesday, November 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thursday, November 26 | Thanksgiving Day |
| Friday, December 25 | Christmas Day |
The source for the list of public holidays is the United States Office of Personnel Management
Updated Commodity Prices
The historical commodity prices section has been updated with numbers for August 2009.
Brazilian Real US Dollar Exchange Rate
The following graph shows the exchange rate of the Brazilian Real with respect to the US Dollar. The Real appreciated continuously since March 2003, depreciating temporarily between September 2008 and February 2009.
Source: Banco Central do Brasil – Time Series Management System
See also: Historical exchange rates for multiple currencies
Tipo de Cambio Real Brasilero Dólar
El gráfico a continuación muestra el tipo de cambio del real brasilero con respecto al dólar norteamericano. El mismo ha venido apreciándose continuamente desde marzo de 2003, depreciándose temporalmente durante el periodo septiembre 2008 – febrero 2009.
Fuente: Banco Central do Brasil – Sistema de Manejo de Series Históricas
Ver también: Series históricas para otras monedas