All year long, a who’s-who roster of strategists, stock pickers and economists come to CNBC with predictions on markets and the economy.
The most hotly debated topics this year included a dreaded double-dip recession, soaring gold prices, a bubble in bonds and whether the euro zone will survive ravaging debt crises.
Now, as 2010 draws to a close, we at CNBC.com wonder: were the pros right? And who should you be listening to in 2011?
Abby Joseph Cohen
The Goldman Sachs strategist is widely known for calling the '90s bull market. This year, Cohen told CNBC she expected the S&P 500 to finish the year in the 1250-1300 range. As 2011 nears, Cohen looks to be spot on with her call: the index closed at 1259.78 on Dec. 29.
Cohen, a trained economist who began her career at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., also correctly landed in the no double-dip camp this year, though her "sense" in July that the "worst is likely over in terms of fear of contagion" in Europe now rings premature.
Dick Bove
The longtime banking analyst predicted in September that the banking sector was positioned for a flood of M&A activity before year end, as investors continued to undervalue bank stocks. He even issued a list of 16 larger banks that he said were attractive takeover candidates.
Since September, Bove's prediction has seen modest success. Three of his 16 takeover targets have been sold off to stronger suitors: Wilmington Trust, Whitney Holding and Marshall and Ilsley, which was snapped up by Bank of Montreal [BMO 57.17 
-0.21 (-0.37%) 
] earlier this month.
-0.21 (-0.37%) ] earlier this month. If you like what Bove has to say, you may want to keep an eye on one of his longer-term predictions for financials: in July, Bove told CNBC he sees Citigroup [C 4.759 -0.011 (-0.23%) ] hitting $8.50 "a couple of years from now."
-0.011 (-0.23%) ] hitting $8.50 "a couple of years from now." Doug Kass
The Palm Beach-based money manager is best known for calling a market bottom in March 2009. This year, Kass came to CNBC for another astute market call; on July 6, Kass said he believed the market had hit its lows for the year.
“I think now we have reached a yearly low for the market for the year. We have been traveling a path of fear and we have begun to dramatically disconnect from fundamentals,” Kass said.
With the S&P closing at 1028.06 in that session—and headed nowhere but up since—it turns out Kass was right on.
However, the money manager may want to stick to market calls from here on out; his predictions in December 2009 that Berkshire Hathaway [BRK'A 119136.00 -564.00 (-0.47%) ] CEO Warren Buffett would step down this year and that the New York Yankees would be sold to a Jack Welch-led investor group end the year unfulfilled.
-564.00 (-0.47%) ] CEO Warren Buffett would step down this year and that the New York Yankees would be sold to a Jack Welch-led investor group end the year unfulfilled. The economist and publisher of popular investment newsletter The Gartman Letter has long been a fan of gold—just don't call him a gold bug.
“I’ve been bullish on gold in foreign currency terms—that’s been the right thing to do,” Gartman told CNBC April 6, adding that he was snapping up the precious metal in terms relative to the euro and the Japanese yen.
It turns out it's been a good year for gold bulls and Gartman's foreign currency strategy is no exception—gold has jumped more than 300 euros an ounce since the start of 2010.
Marc Faber
The perma-bear and publisher of the "Gloom, Boom and Doom Report" told CNBC last year that 2010 would be a tough year to predict.
"I'm very sorry to say that this is one of the few times that I have no precise idea how 2010 will end," Faber said in an appearance on December 30, 2009.
Uncertainty surrounding the value of the dollar, interest rates and an economic recovery—among other things—would all create an extremely uncertain landscape for investors in 2010, Faber said then.
One thing he was sure of—and long has been—is investing in gold. "I think it's a very good insurance to have," Faber said, though his call that there wouldn't be "a huge rally" in gold this year missed the mark.
