Airlines Deutsche Lufthansa AG in Germany and Finnair Oyj in Finland cut their profit forecasts in the past month as results fell short of expectations and forward bookings sagged. U.K.-based Flybe Group Plc, Europe's biggest regional airline, said Oct. 5 that first-half revenue missed its forecast.

In the U.S., United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. have said they are worried that travel demand may weaken at the end of this year and leading into 2012 if the economy worsens, and they're trimming capacity to lower costs.

European leaders have been meeting to discuss ways to fortify undercapitalized banks and stem sovereign-debt woes, which broke out in Greece in late 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama last week called the European debt crisis "the biggest headwind" to his nation's economic recovery.

In response to the debt crisis, spending cuts have been pursued in Greece, Portugal and Ireland, damping economic outlooks. In the U.K., Tesco Plc reported its worst domestic sales performance in at least six years. Children's retailer Mothercare Plc and Premier Foods Plc, the U.K.'s largest foodmaker, have said they would miss forecasts.

The three biggest luxury carmakers -- Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Volkswagen AG's Audi -- are reporting a cooling in sales growth after a first- half boom that has nudged them toward all-time sales highs.

Fiat SpA, Italy's largest automaker and the owner of Chrysler Group LLC, has scrapped its 2011 domestic car sales forecast, with Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne saying the "Italian market hasn't been so weak since the 1980s."

Scania AB, the Soedertaelje, Sweden-based truckmaker controlled by Volkswagen AG, said today it plans to lower production at European factories by as much as 15 percent beginning next month as demand for commercial vehicles drops.

"Government financial problems in Europe and the U.S. have now begun to affect economic activity and have led to hesitation among customers," the company said in a statement.

Financial Companies

Financial companies may be a drag on earnings growth as well because the market for initial public offerings has dried up, acquisition activity has slowed and fixed income has been hurt by low yields, said Luschini of Janney Montgomery. Analysts' forecasts for S&P 500 earnings-per-share growth that includes financials have dropped to 12 percent this month from 18 percent in July, according to Bloomberg data.