SECOND TEAM

Kulbinder Garcha & team Credit Suisse

After four years in first place, the eight-analyst Credit Suisse crew drops one notch to No. 2, but team leader Kulbinder Garcha is still “a wizard when it comes to uncovering shifts in the industry and corporate operations even before management knows what’s going on,” attests one longtime client. The analysts downgraded Alcatel-Lucent from neutral to sell in November, at €2.17, warning investors that the Paris-based company would need a massive cash infusion to keep operating. The following week, Alcatel confirmed that it had begun a private placement of up to €500 million ($676 million) in senior notes at 8.5 percent. The stock ended the year virtually unchanged, closing December at €2.18. During the same period the sector advanced 5.5 percent.