U.S. feels ripples from euro crisis

The tremors from Europe's financial upheaval have reached U.S. shores, rattling consumers and companies.

The consequences have been limited so far. Yet the United States and Europe are so closely linked that any slowdown across the Atlantic is felt here. U.S. makers of cars, solar panels, drugs, clothes and computer equipment have all reported some effects.

Worries that Europe's crisis could worsen and spread are spooking investors and consumers just as the holiday shopping season nears. Some fear U.S. consumers could rein in spending. Europe's sputtering growth is already dragging on some U.S. companies' profits and could further slow the U.S. economy.

The crisis "seems to be coming to a head right at the time the U.S. economy is at its most vulnerable," said Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo.

It's affecting companies like Marlin Steel Wire Products, a 34-employee business based in Baltimore that's been seeking a $4-million contract from a German manufacturer for an industrial steel wire project.

Marlin's chief executive, Drew Greenblatt, says the German firm is in "pause mode" because of Europe's turmoil. The company had promised him the order by early November.

Marlin's overall sales are growing briskly. But sales to Europe have been sinking.

"If they were ordering like they customarily do, we would have hired more guys," Greenblatt said.

The European Union is the No. 1 U.S. trading partner. Nearly $475 billion in goods crossed between the regions in the first nine months of 2011. About 14 percent of revenue for the 500 biggest U.S. companies -- roughly $1.3 trillion -- comes from Europe.

The U.S. economy is especially vulnerable to the European crisis because it's growing so weakly and facing other risks, such as lack of hiring, stagnant pay, high energy costs and a wide trade deficit.

"It won't take much to tip us into another recession," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at California State University, Channel Islands. "If Europe gets into any deeper trouble, it will take us and the rest of the world down, too."

Even if Europe doesn't fall further, its turmoil is still affecting U.S. companies and consumers in several ways:

Stock-market gyrations unsettle consumers and make them more cautious about spending.

U.S. companies with big European operations are suffering lower sales, prices and profits.

Banks worldwide are cutting lending and hoarding cash to create more cushion for potentially deep losses on their holdings of Greek, Italian and other government debt. U.S. and overseas banks are keeping about $1.57 trillion in reserves at the Federal Reserve, a jump of nearly $580 billion in the past year.

Uncertainty about how much damage Europe could cause is making corporations reluctant to spend their piles of cash to hire and invest.

Not every U.S. company is hurting in Europe, of course. McDonald's Corp., Kraft Foods Inc., Sara Lee Corp. and Oracle Corp. recently reported strong results there.

But third-quarter profit fell 15 percent for General Motors, mainly because of slower sales and higher costs in Europe.