U.S. housing slump hammers Mexico

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Those looking for more evidence that the U.S. economy might be tipping toward recession should check the latest remittance figures from the Bank of Mexico.

In November, remittances sent to Mexico totaled just under $1.8 billion. That’s down 1.6% from November 2006. On the year, growth in remittances is virtually stagnant, up just 1% to $22.2 billion in the first 11 months of 2007 compared with the same period in 2006. Most of those funds come from Mexican-born workers living in the United States who wire money to family members south of the border.

The slowdown is stunning considering that remittances had been growing by more than 20% annually in recent years. It underscores the deep slump in the U.S. construction sector, which employs one in five Latino immigrants.

-- Marla Dickerson in Mexico City