At $1, Citi share worth just a soft drink

Buying one share of Citigroup will cost its CEO Vikram Pandit his full-year salary - $1, which can also buy a soft drink at any neighbourhood McDonald's store.

There are, in fact, as many as eight items available at the US outlets of McDonald's for $1, which is now the price of one share of Citigroup -- the global financial behemoth having assets worth about $2 trillion.

In the previous trading session at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Citi shares plunged by 10 per cent to hit a sub-one dollar low of 97 cents, before closing at $1.02.

This marks a sharp plunge from its 52-week high of $27 and over $50 a share before Pandit took over in December 2007.

With this sharp plunge, Citi has got the dubious distinction of being among the cheapest blue-chip stocks and probably the only one in the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average index stocks worth just about $1.

It is, however, closely followed by struggling carmakers GM and Ford, whose prices are now below $2.

For $1 -- also the annual salary of Pandit -- a plenty of products are available outside stock market, including some mouth-watering items at McDonald's.