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Focus List, the top U.S. stock picks of Credit Suisse, has outperformed the S&P 500 in each of the past six years.

In 2010, an equal-weighting of Credit Suisse's Focus List generated a return of more than 17 per cent, beating the S&P 500's 15 per cent rise. In 2009, Focus List surged 48 per cent, trouncing the S&P 500's 27 per cent advance. Here is a look at picks 18 to 11 on the 2011 list.

18. International Game Technology

17. Procter & Gamble

16. Time Warner

15. PetroHawk Energy

14. Robert Half International

13. Health Management Associates

12. Ingersoll-Rand

11. Cytec

Now, here is a closer look at Credit Suisse's 10 best stock picks for 2011, based on potential return. Below, they are ordered by upside, from good to great.

10. Polo is an apparel designer. Ralph Lauren's prestige is bolstering sales in all geographies. Credit Suisse is encouraged by the launch of its Lauren handbags line, strength in Southeast Asia, a critical emerging market, the launch of online shopping in the U.K. and a South Korean business starting in 2011. Its current sales distribution is roughly 65 per cent North America, 20 per cent Europe and 10 per cent Asia. Equalizing these channels is a long-term goal, which should boost margins and long-term earnings per share to roughly $15. Credit Suisse believes that Polo will be "one of the best performing discretionary stocks over the next few years." Its target implies 17 per cent upside in the next year.

9. BlackRock is the world's largest investment company, based on assets under management. Credit Suisse analysts are encouraged by recent stake reductions by Bank of America and PNC Financial. Credit Suisse expects the company to benefit from the trend toward exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, and a leading international distribution network. The recent enhancement of the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Global Distribution Agreement will increase product reach. BlackRock's stock already sells at a premium to peers, based on earnings. Still, Credit Suisse expects it to trade at nearly 19 times 2011 earnings within the next 12 months.

8. Kroger beat the quarterly consensus sales and adjusted earnings expectations by 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively, but the supermarket chain's stock corrected 9.4 per cent on announcement due to a weaker-than-anticipated selling gross margin and a 2.1 per cent net income miss. Credit Suisse believes the market is overlooking quarterly positives, including a 6 per cent pop in EBITDA and ongoing cost-cutting initiatives. It expects management to repurchase $200-million to $300-million of stock in the fourth quarter, helping earnings per share. Shares trades at a forward earnings multiple of 11 and a cash-flow multiple of 4.6, 25 per cent and 50 per cent discounts to food and staples retailing averages.

7. Morgan Stanley is a financial services company, with investment banking, research, trading and asset management operations. Credit Suisse just cut its fourth-quarter earnings estimate for the bank, due to one-time items, but is reiterating its prediction of outperformance in 2011. Credit Suisse notes the stock's sizable historical discount and franchise power as positives. Its $35 12-month target, consistent with a 25 per cent return, is notably conservative. That price target is equivalent to 1.1 times year-end book value and 1.3 times tangible book estimates. Those multiples reflect 59 per cent and 55 per cent discounts to historical averages.

6. Guess designs apparel. Its stock has jumped 17 per cent in the past three months, but Credit Suisse remains optimistic about upside. The researcher expects positive forward earnings revisions going forward and multiple expansion as the market comes to appreciate the company's global brand power. Management has proven its commitment to reward shareholders, boosting the regular dividend 25 per cent and paying a special $2 dividend in December, equivalent to a 4.3 per cent additional yield on the share price. Credit Suisse believes Guess could achieve sales growth in the mid-teens in the next few years. Its $60 target suggests a one-year gain of 27 per cent.

5. Western Union is a money transfer and payment services company. In addition to making the Credit Suisse Focus List, Western Union made the 2011 Top Picks List at Barclays. Credit Suisse analysts are encouraged by Western Union's recently announced 100 million euro bid for Angelo Costa, which should solidify European growth rates. The acquisition would add 7,500 locations in Europe. Credit Suisse has a $25 target on the stock, equivalent to 17-times its 2011 earnings projection. That target suggests a return of 33 per cent. Barclays is marginally less bullish, with a $24 price target. Two thirds of Wall Street researchers rate it "buy."

4. Intel is the world's largest chipmaker. A foray into tablets and smart phones has gotten little recognition from the Street, but Credit Suisse believes that any success outside of Intel's PC business will be "multiple accretive." Investors are concerned that tablets and net books will cannibalize PC sales and that enterprise spending in 2011 could surprise to the downside. Credit Suisse believes that Intel can maintain and perhaps extend its lead market share in PCs, and that opportunity in smartphone and tablet markets is "more tangible than what the market expects, both on share and profitability." At a trailing earnings multiple of 11, Intel is 47 per cent cheaper than its five-year average.

3. Bank of America jumped 5 per cent yesterday on news that it will pay $2.8-billion to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to rectify buy-back demands. The bank's stock was the third worst-performing Dow stock of 2010, having fallen more than 11 per cent. Credit Suisse expects near-term revenue headwinds, but reiterates that the bank is the cheapest large-cap bank stock, costing just six times normalized 2012 earnings, a huge peer, market and historical discount. Credit Suisse's $20 target implies 43 per cent upside. Other analysts view the stock favorably. Of those covering Bank of America, 21, or 62 per cent, advise purchasing its shares, and 13 recommend holding them.

2. Research In Motion designs and manufactures Blackberry smartphones and recently debuted a tablet computer, PlayBook. Its chief competitor is Apple, maker of the iPhone. The iPhone's expansion to Verizon in 2011 presents a major headwind. Still, Credit Suisse is optimistic about overseas growth and believes that Research In Motion can maintain its 16 per cent-17 per cent market share in 2011, despite weaker North America sales. The market has been overwhelmingly pessimistic about RIM. Its stock trades at just 8.1 times Credit Suisse's 2012 earnings projection, a huge discount to tech peers. That forecast doesn't include potential EPS from tablets.

1. Sprint is the runt of the mobile carrier litter, trailing Verizon and AT&T. But, Credit Suisse expects Sprint's stock to outperform the aforementioned competitors' shares in 2011. It upgraded its savings estimate from the company's Network Vision upgrade to $2-billion to $2.5-billion. Credit Suisse calls Sprint its "highest conviction outperform." It values Sprint's core business at $6 a share, based on discounted cash flow analysis, with $4 of upside from Vision. It expects the company to enjoy only $2 of this potential upside, equivalent to an $8, 12-month target and an outsized 82 per cent return. This is an unpopular view. Just 34 per cent of analysts rate Sprint's shares "buy."

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