The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.5 percent, ending the day firmly in bear-market territory. GM took a hit as one analyst raised the prospect of bankruptcy. Lehman Brothers rose.

UnitedHealth Group on Wednesday slashed its full-year earnings outlook because of tough competition in the health benefits business and said it would pay more than $900 million to settle lawsuits related to past stock options practices.

Peter Klein of Fifth Third Asset Management sees investors running away from a lot of stocks, when they should be running toward them. Click to see his picks.

A profit warning from WellPoint suggests that U.S. health insurers may not be a safe bet for investors to put their money in a troubled economy.

Insurer UnitedHealth Group won U.S. antitrust approval on Monday to buy Sierra Health Services, despite criticism of the deal.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday said he will sue Ingenix, its parent UnitedHealth Group and three subsidiaries, saying the insurers are defrauding consumers by manipulating how much doctors and hospitals are reimbursed.

The New York Attorney General's Office said it plans to file suit against Ingenix, its parent UnitedHealth Group, and three additional subsidiaries, as part of an investigation into a "scheme by health insurers to defraud consumers by manipulating reimbursement rates."

UnitedHealthsaid on Tuesday that fourth-quarter earnings rose 3 percent, in line with Wall Street's target, helped by improved performance in its Medicaid plans for low-income Americans.