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Stocks were mostly lower Wednesday on Wall Street following a bumpy start to the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 45 points at 13,125 in the first two hours of trading, giving up an earlier gain of 20. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down three points to 1,402, and the Nasdaq composite was down less than a point at 3,073.

The declines were broad. Only three of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index rose. Aluminum maker Alcoa led the Dow lower with a decline of 1.2 percent.

Hartford Financial jumped 4.3 percent after the company said it would get out of the annuity business and focus on property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. Hedge fund manager John Paulson had urged Hartford to spin off businesses.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters soared 8.3 percent. The company said it was expanding its partnership with Starbucks to sell Starbucks’ Vue coffee packs for use in Green Mountain’s Keurig single-cup machines. The news relieved investors concerned that Starbucks’ new single-cup Verismo coffee machine might be a competitive threat to Keurig.

FSI International, which makes equipment for producing microelectronics, jumped 10 percent after the company reported that orders skyrocketed in the latest quarter, helping the company beat analysts’ forecasts.

Baker Hughes fell 4 percent after the oil-field services company said its profit margin would fall below last quarter’s as companies shift from crude to natural gas exploration. Baker Hughes is facing shortages of raw materials used in its pressure pumping business, a decline in fleet usage and higher-than-expected personnel and logistics costs.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.32 percent from 2.36 percent late Tuesday. The dollar fell against the euro. Gold and crude oil prices rose slightly.

Stocks closed lower on Tuesday for only the second time in two weeks after two reports suggested an economic slowdown in China. Supercharged economic growth in China over the past three years has helped sustain the global economic recovery. The Dow closed down nearly 69 points, its biggest loss in two weeks.

The Dow is still up 1.6 percent this month and 7.7 percent so far this year. Other indexes are up even more in the year to date: The S&P 500 is up 11.7 percent, the technology-focused Nasdaq composite 18.1 percent.

In a research report Wednesday, Goldman Sachs analysts urged investors to dump bonds and put money into stocks. The report argues that the weak economic growth in the United States and Europe is not universal, and that the 2010s could be the strongest period for world growth between 1980 and 2050.

It also argues that, while Japan’s two decades of economic stagnation in the 1990s and 2000s are a tempting comparison to what the U.S. and Europe face today, Japanese stocks were far more overvalued before Japan entered its decline.

“We think it’s time to say a `long goodbye’ to bonds, and embrace the `long good buy’ for equities as we expect them to embark on an upward trend over the next few years,” the report says.

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Thailand and Taiwan may keep interest rates unchanged this week as Asian policy makers gauge the extent of a growth slowdown in China that

A physician has sued a leading St. Louis area urology firm, saying that he was forced out of the medical practice on trumped-up sexual harassment allegations.

Dr. Kent Adkins, who filed the lawsuit Jan. 13 in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, also says that he has been blackballed by his former medical practice, Metropolitan Urological Specialists PC, from obtaining employment as a urologist.

In his 24-page complaint, Adkins maintains that the sexual harassment allegations were concocted by the doctors’ group last year so that it could appropriate more than $500,000 of his patient fees to help pay its debts, including bank loans and back taxes. Adkins also says that he learned from prospective employers that individuals associated with Metropolitan Urological have told others in the medical community that he was fired because of the alleged misconduct.

Adkins’ lawsuit is the latest legal dustup for Chesterfield-based Metropolitan, whose former chief executive officer, Dunard Morris, was indicted last week on embezzlement charges.

Metropolitan and eight of its physician-shareholders are named as defendants in Adkins’ lawsuit.

The doctors’ group has denied any wrongdoing. In a counterclaim, Metropolitan has accused Adkins of “malicious prosecution,” and asked the judge to dismiss Adkins’ claims and compel him to submit his case to binding arbitration.

Adkins says that he began working for Urological Surgeons, a predecessor of Metropolitan, in July 2004, and that from 2006 to 2010 he was the medical firm’s second-highest producer of patient revenues.

He says that Metropolitan owes him $297,222 in unpaid compensation; his share of $117,000 in patient receipts; unspecified compensation for lost earnings since his termination; unpaid contributions to the medical firm’s retirement and profit-sharing plans; and an unspecified amount for damages to his reputation.

On or about Sept. 2, Adkins alleges, he was informed by Metropolitan’s lawyer, Mayer Klein, that his employment was being terminated because of a “thick file” of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints.

Adkins, however, says that he has never been the subject of any complaint filed with the EEOC and that Metropolitan has not produced any such complaints. Adkins also denies any improper business conduct.

At a shareholders’ meeting on Nov. 7, Adkins says, Klein presented the findings of an internal inquiry, which alleged that Adkins “had engaged in sexual harassment, made discriminatory statements, conducted unnecessary medical tests, had ‘anger management’ issues, and misused the corporate credit card.” Adkins denies these allegations.

In its counterclaim, Metropolitan says that Adkins’ misconduct includes “workplace violations, such as being disrespectful to women, frequently stating to a female employee of the (medical) Group that a woman’s place is in the home, not treating a patient in an emergency situation, and issuing inappropriate sexual comments to a female member of the Group.”

Metropolitan says that Adkins owes $995,272 to Metropolitan under the terms of his employment contract; $100,000 for excess salary and bonus pay; $109,404 for insurance; $72,801 for auto expenses; $28,181 for using Metropolitan’s credit card for unauthorized personal purchases including his personal trainer; and an “unspecified amount of money for outrageous conduct that he engaged in while employed at the Group.”

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Consumer prices rose the most in 10 months in February as the cost of gasoline spiked, but there was little sign that underlying inflation pressures were building up.

Surging gasoline prices put a small dent in consumer confidence early this month, other data showed on Friday. Still, Americans do not believe the sharp run up in prices will last.

The Labor Department said the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent in February after advancing 0.2 percent in January. Gasoline accounted for more than 80 percent of the rise.

Stripping out volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core CPI edged up just 0.1 percent.

“Consumer purchasing power, at least for the next few months, is going to remain pressured by rising gasoline prices,” said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Well Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina. However, he said a trend toward lower inflation was still in place.

Consumer prices rose 2.9 percent last month from a year-ago, unchanged from January but down from a peak of 3.9 percent in September. The core index was up 2.2 percent over the 12 months through February, down from 2.3 percent in January.

The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday the recent spike in energy costs would likely lift inflation only temporarily. Over a longer horizon, it said inflation was poised to run at or below its 2 percent target.

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Graphic - consumer prices: link.reuters.com/cam27s

Graphic - core CPI: link.reuters.com/mam27s

Graphic - industrial output: link.reuters.com/fem27s

Graphic - consumer sentiment: link.reuters.com/xem27s

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GASOLINE HURTS SENTIMENT

Gasoline prices have increased 53 cents since the start of the year to an average of $3.88 a gallon in the week to Monday.

That helped pull the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index on consumer sentiment down to 74.3 early this month from 75.3 in February.

Consumer expectations for inflation one year ahead jumped to 4 percent from 3.3 percent, but the five-year reading rose only slightly to 3 percent and the survey’s director said Americans do not expect the steep climb in gasoline costs to last.

“Overall, the data indicate that $4 gasoline has lost its shock value, although the drain on discretionary income will still affect spending, mostly among lower-income households,” survey director Richard Curtin said.

Inflation expectations among investors, as signaled by spreads in the bond market, have also been on the rise, supported by a stream of relatively upbeat economic data. However, they fell back a bit after the CPI report.

Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program have kept alive fears of oil supply disruptions and have pushed prices higher.

With gasoline weighing on the economy’s recovery, President Barack Obama, who faces re-election in November, has been considering tapping strategic oil stocks to ease the price pressure.

Other data on Friday showed the economy continues to expand moderately. Production at the nation’s mines, factories and utilities held steady last month after a 0.4 percent gain in January, the Fed said.

Manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent, even as automakers cut production by 1.1 percent after two big monthly gains. Carmakers had raised production to meet pent up demand for popular models in short supply.

“While higher energy prices and the euro zone recession are headwinds for manufacturers, an expanding U.S. economy, propelled by strengthening job market gains, should keep factory activity strong this year,” said Paul Edelstein, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts.

INFLATION OUT PACES WAGES

Stocks on Wall Street were little changed after hefty gains this week. Prices for U.S. Treasury debt fell, while the dollar weakened broadly.

The CPI report showed gasoline prices soared 6 percent last month, the largest increase since December 2010. They had risen 0.9 percent in January. While the strengthening jobs market is providing some cushion against rising gas prices at the pump, salaries are not keeping up.

Average weekly earnings, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.3 percent last month after slipping 0.1 percent in January, the Labor Department said. Compared with February last year, weekly earnings were down 0.4 percent.

But there was some price relief for households. Food costs held steady in February, marking the first time in 1-1/2 years they had not risen, and apparel prices dropped by the most since July 2006.

There were also declines in the prices of tobacco, airline tickets and used cars and trucks. Recreation costs also fell. But new motor vehicle prices recorded their first increase in nine months, reflecting rising domestic demand for autos.

A measure of the amount homeowners would pay to rent or would earn from renting their property - one of the largest single components of the CPI - rose at the slowest pace since April. Rents have risen as Americans have moved away from ownership in the face of persistent declines in house prices.

“The downward trajectory for consumer price inflation remains largely intact,” said Millan Mulraine, a senior macro strategist at TD Securities in New York.

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About 100 students protested Friday ahead of a speech at Cambridge University by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund chief whose career collapsed after he was charged with sexual assault.

The 62-year-old French politician, often called DSK, was scheduled to speak on Europe’s financial crisis at the university’s debating society later Friday despite calls for the event to be canceled. The protesters said the university should not give a platform to a man with such a troubling attitude toward women.

“It’s got nothing to do with freedom of speech,” said student Francesca Williams, 21. “They’re inviting a man who hates women. I don’t think DSK should be given the privilege of speaking in front of a private audience.”

Earlier, police arrested a man and a woman, both in their early 20s, on suspicion of vandalizing The Cambridge Union Society building. The Cambridge News website displayed photos showing its walls defaced with messages including “DSK GO AWAY” and “WOMEN DESERVE BETTER.”

Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the IMF after allegations last May that he sexually assaulted New York hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo no fax payday advances. Prosecutors later dropped criminal charges against him, but Diallo has brought a civil case against him.

In an unrelated case, he was questioned by police in Lille, France, last month about a suspected hotel prostitution ring.

Diallo’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor, spoke to about 100 Cambridge students and journalists on her behalf at a rival event earlier Friday. Letting Strauss-Kahn speak at the prestigious university was “giving him a platform to use Cambridge University to help his publicity campaign,” Wigdor said.

A statement posted Friday on the debating union’s website states that the invitation was made well before Strauss-Kahn’s controversial departure from the IMF. His experience in French politics mean that he was “exceptionally well qualified” to speak on the financial crisis and the French presidential election, it said.

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Six world powers are urging Iran to answer questions meant to defuse concerns it seeks nuclear weapons, while stressing that diplomacy is the way forward.

The six also are asking Iran to open its Parchin military site to International Atomic Energy Agency perusal, amid signs that Tehran might be cleaning it of evidence of nuclear-arms related experiments.

The six _ the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany _ issued a joint statement Thursday at a 35-nation IAEA board meeting.

Concerns about Parchin are high. Diplomats who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday said satellite footage from the area appeared to show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at the miltiary facility, indicating an attempted cleanup of radioactive traces.

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Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. said Monday it plans to acquire mobile advertising company Amobee Inc. for $321 million.

SingTel, Southeast Asia’s largest telecom by revenue, plans to complete the purchase by June and leave the management of Redwood City, California-based Amobee in place, the company said in a statement.

SingTel said it seeks to move beyond mobile advertising through banner ads to include targeted deals and coupons and loyalty rewards programs for customers.

“We’re very serious about becoming a major player in this mobile marketing ecosystem,” said Allen Lew, chief executive of SingTel’s Singapore operations. “It’s an important first step for us because we believe this investment sets us up to capture the huge opportunity in mobile marketing.”

SingTel also announced Monday that it will reorganize itself into groups focusing on consumers, digital life and information and communications technology. SingTel owns Australia’s Optus and has large stakes in mobile operators in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, the Philippines and Bangladesh. It has 434 million subscribers worldwide.

SingTel said last month its net profit in the fourth quarter fell 9.6 percent to 902 million Singapore dollars ($720 million).

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Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman said Greece is

Shell Lubricants has informed employees it will close its Wood River Blending Plant in Roxana and its St. Louis regional distribution center in O’Fallon, Mo.

Ninety-six people work at the two facilities.

A Shell spokesperson said the blending plant needed extensive upgrades. She said Shell does not own the plant and the company decided not to renew the current lease when it expires. With closure of the blending plant, the distribution center will no longer be optimally located for its functions, she said.

The blending plant employs 83 people and the distribution center employs 13. They produce and distribute bulk and packaged lubricants, including motor oil.

Shell built the huge Wood River Refinery in 1917 and owned and operated it for many years. The distribution center had operated since 2000. The two Shell Lubricants locations are the only Shell-operated businesses remaining in the St. Louis area. The blending plant is leased from ConocoPhillips, which now operates the refinery.

The blending plant is scheduled to close at the end of 2013. The distribution center will close at the end of this year.

Affected employees will be considered for other positions within the company or offered competitive severance packages, the company said in a written statement.

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