7:31 am - Sad news for CitiGroup !

Citigroup stock slides below $4 a share NEW YORK (AP) - Citigroup Inc. shares extended their precipitous slideFriday, after an initial lift from a report that said the banking giant wasconsidering a sale to rebuild investor confidence. The New York-based bank is scheduled to hold a board meeting Friday todiscuss whether to sell all or part of itself, the Wall Street Journal reported. But as no hard news emerged from the company about that possibility,Citigroup's shares tumbled below $4 a share to their lowest level in more than15 years, continuing a sharp, week-long plunge that could not be stemmed bySaudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's decision Thursday to raise his stakein the company to 5 percent from less than 4 percent. The shares have shed 60 percent of their value since last Friday. A call that CEO Vikram Pandit and Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittendenheld Friday morning with senior managers at the bank offered nothing new about ashift in strategy for the company. People familiar with the call, who spoke anonymously because the commentsduring the call were not made public, said that Pandit's message was similar tothat at his town hall meeting with employees on Monday -- that Citigroup hasadequate capital, and that he supports the universal bank model. Still, the people said the call, which lasted about half an hour, did notrule any option out. "It's clear everything is on the table. That wasn't explicit, but I thinkit's clear," one person said. Citigroup is considered the most vulnerable among the major U.S. banks,failing to turn a profit in the past four quarters when rivals such as NewYork-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Charlotte's Bank of America Corp. managed todo so. Concerns are growing that the deteriorating economy and still-turbulentmarkets will slam Citigroup with more write-downs in the coming quarters. Whatbegan as a subprime residential mortgage crisis has ballooned into a full-blowndebt crisis, escalating defaults in everything from leveraged loans to creditcard debt to commercial real estate loans. The bank has been rushing to get leaner and wind down its assets backed byrisky debt. On Monday, Citigroup said it will cut 53,000 jobs, on top of 22,000cuts previously announced. Then on Wednesday, the bank said it is acquiring theremaining $17.4 billion in assets held by complex debt products known asstructured investment vehicles that it previously ran off its balance sheet. Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be