hffg Having an ownership pie in AIG, once the world's biggest insurer, does not cost even half a dollar now, while Citigroup, again once the world's biggest bank, is hanging just over one-buck mark.

Not far away are General Motors and Ford, the world's two largest carmakers, with share prices of just over one-dollar level. A year or so ago, these names were among the prized brands of the stock market also, besides the areas of their businesses, with share prices in multiples of current levels.

Giving company to these and many other once blue-chip stocks in their free-fall towards near-zero levels are macroeconomic indicators like interest rate, inflation and GDP growth rates, not only in the world's biggest economy, the USA, but also at many other places.

People have started talking of a deflation scenario -- where inflation slips into negative territory -- even in India, while many developed economies have already seen their GDP growth rates dipping into the red.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries lost Rs 14,872 crore in the previous week from its market capitalisation with the scrip losing over 7 per cent to settle at Rs 1,170.55 at the end of Friday's trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

RIL's market cap stood at Rs 1,84,221 crore last week as against Rs 1,99,093 crore in the previous week.

The coveted club of top 10 firms, which comprises four private entities and six public sector companies, lost Rs 55,932 crore during the week with market cap of Rs 96,72,202 crore. Last week, the valuation of the club stood at Rs 10,23,135 crore.

With the market meltdown due to heavy selling by Foreign Institutional Investors in the past week, all the top 10 companies witnessed an erosion in their market valuations.

Market analysts said that FIIs have now turned to selling big chunks of their investment in blue chips which led to the tumbling at