Gutsy Calls of 2011

This year was one of the most volatile stock market years in history thanks in part to a global debt crisis, geopolitical instability, downgrades, countless rallies and routs, and bankruptcies, among other notable events.

Because of the unprecedented amount of instability, 2011 will also be known as the year of the call. Market prognosticators, stock pickers, hedge funds, even ratings agencies took to the unenviable but necessary task of trying to predict the future - putting their pocket books (and credibility) on the line in the process.

Some of this year's biggest calls made investors billions of dollars, and some sparked unparalleled levels of panic and rebuke that left reputations, even entire companies, in ruins.