Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta declined to comment. Pandit in a memo said he will host a "town hall" meeting for employees on Nov. 17 at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT), at which he plans to discuss the bank's plans, including "the money we spend."

Since replacing Charles Prince as chief executive in December, Pandit has made cost-cutting a top priority and has announced plans to shed $400 billion of assets.

He has, however, faced growing and sometimes withering criticism from investors and others for failing to implement a workable turnaround plan for New York-based Citigroup.

The bank's shares fell this below $10 for the first time since Sanford "Sandy" Weill in 1998 created Citigroup from the merger of Travelers Group Inc with Citicorp.

In late Friday trading, the shares were up 13 cents at $9.58. They began the year at $29.44.

Citigroup's market value on Thursday was just $51.5 billion, barely twice the $25 billion of capital it received from the U.S. Treasury Department's new bank bailout plan.

"The current strategy has been in place for more than a decade," said William Smith, chief executive of Smith Asset Management Inc in New York, which owns Citigroup stock. "I don't know how many more quarters we have to go through this."

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

Like many rivals, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets faces growing credit losses now that many economies worldwide appear to be in recession.

But Citigroup is also constrained from growing at home, and Wells Fargo & Co last month derailed its attempt to buy Wachovia Corp and its $418.8 billion of deposits.

Citigroup has lost $20.3 billion in the last year, analysts expect it to lose money this quarter, and some analysts believe it may not be profitable in 2009.

The bank was cobbled together principally by Weill, who ceded control to Prince in 2003. But analysts believe Citigroup never invested enough in technology or to make the bank's disparate parts work well together.

And Citigroup's geographic diversity, including operations in more than 100 countries, is by some measures now a negative, as customers in Brazil, India and Mexico -- like many in the United States -- find it harder to keep up with their bills.

Pandit on Thursday bought 750,000 Citigroup common shares and 100,000 preferred shares -- the first time he has disclosed using his own money to buy the bank's stock. He joined Citigroup in 2007 when he sold his hedge fund, Old Lane Partners LP, to the bank for an estimated $800 million.

Citigroup has this week also tried to set aside reports of dissension among its directors with the performance of Pandit and the bank's chairman, Sir Win Bischoff.

"The board of directors and management are operating as one team," lead director Richard Parsons, who is also chairman of Time Warner Inc, said in a memo late Thursday to employees. "We are confident that the direction our management team has set is the right direction."

(Reporting by Dan Wilchins and Jonathan Stempel, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

((dan.wilchins@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6320; Reuters Messaging: dan.wilchins.reuters.com@reuters.net; jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: CITIGROUP/ . Keywords: CITIGROUP/ (Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra: visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News: http://topnews.reuters.com)

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"For 21 years, Popular Science's Best of What's New awards honor the innovations that a make positive impact on life today and change our views of the future," said Mark Jannot, editor-in-chief of Popular Science. "PopSci's editors evaluate thousands of products each year to develop this thoughtful list; there's no higher accolade Popular Science can give."

CIRT's innovative design can shatter a concrete wall in 13 minutes, compared with more than 30 minutes for conventional methods.

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Based in Garland, Texas, Raytheon IIS is a leading provider of information and intelligence solutions to the government. IIS had annual revenues in 2007 of approximately $2.7 billion and employs more than 9,000 engineering and technical professionals worldwide.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 86 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world's largest science and technology magazine, with a circulation of 1.45 million and 6.5 million monthly readers. Each month, Popular Science reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, with an eye toward what's new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by Time4 Media, a subsidiary of Time Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

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Note to Editors:

The award winners can be found in the December edition of Popular Science. More information on the CIRT can be found at www.raytheon.com keyword: CIRT.

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