"An attempt to quantify ... a qualitative process," is how Morningstar's Josh Peters describes the creation of the Dividend Yield Focus Index. Most dividend indexes, he says, are entirely backward looking. Instead, Peters looks for an economic moat to protect against a dividend ever being cut. Thus ... The Morningstar equity strategist on where he's finding opportunity today, plus a contrarian play.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:09]</b> ... Glaser with Morningstar.com. It's Ideas Week , and I'm here today with <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>, editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor, to talk about his top dividend picks for 2010. Josh, thanks for joining me. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b> : Happy to be here. Glaser : For investors looking into the new year, what are some of the things that they ... <br/><b>[0:03:57]</b> ... today. Glaser : Great. Thanks so much for talking with me today, <b>Josh</b>. <b>Peters</b> : Happy to join you. Glaser : For Morningstar.com, I'm Jeremy Glaser.   ... <br/> Buffett has the discipline to guide capital back into his firm rather than use it for dividend payouts, but most companies are better off distributing excess cash to shareholders, says Morningstar's Josh Peters.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:13]</b> ... is this advice good for other companies, as well? I'm here with <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>. He is the editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor . He is also the director of equity-income strategies at Morningstar. Josh, thanks for joining me. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>: Good to be here. Glaser: So, what was Buffett's case for not paying a dividend? Peters: Well, he talked about dividends in ... <br/> Josh Peters discusses the Fed stress test's implications for bank dividends with markets editor Jeremy Glaser.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:00]</b> ... Jeremy Glaser: For Morningstar, I'm Jeremy Glaser. I'm here today with <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>. He is editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor . He is also our director of equity-income strategy. We're going to take a look at bank dividends and see if the recent Fed stress tests have opened up any opportunities for income investors. Josh, thanks for talking with me. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>: Good to be here, Jeremy. Glaser: So, the Federal Reserve recently released their annual assessment of what they think of bank capital ... <br/> Morningstar investment experts Russ Kinnel, Matt Coffina, Josh Peters, and Sam Lee answer viewer questions about the current market and the best opportunities in stocks, funds, and ETFs today.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:14]</b> ... your player. I'd like to introduce our panelists today. First we have <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>, he is the editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor and also the director of equity income strategies; we have Russ Kinnel, he is our ... <br/><b>[0:00:50]</b> ... What kind of opportunities are you seeing in dividend-paying stocks right now? <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>: I think the most important thing I want to emphasize right now is quality. We've had a big run-up, a big recovery ... <br/> With more firms decreasing (or eliminating) their payouts, DividendInvestor editor Josh Peters highlights what investors should look for to ensure stable, long-term dividend income.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:00]</b> ... Jeremy Glaser: For Morningstar, I'm Jeremy Glaser. I'm here today with <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>. He is the editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor and also the director of the equity-income strategy at Morningstar. He will be hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, Feb. 26 on dividend-investing strategies.     Josh, thanks for joining me today. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>: Thank you, Jeremy. Glaser: So, let's talk a little bit about dividend investing. If it makes sense for people looking for income ... <br/> Compared with other investments, the income consistency that dividends provide on a pretax basis allows them to retain their value and practicality even if tax rates increase, says Morningstar's Josh Peters.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:00]</b> ... Jeremy Glaser: For Morningstar, I'm Jeremy Glaser. I'm joined today by <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>. He's the editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor . We're going to look at some hot dividend topics. Josh, thanks for talking with me today. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>: Good to be here. Glaser: So, let's start with the election. One of the things that we've been talking about for quite ... <br/> Policymakers will likely keep tax rates low, but even if current rates expire, dividend payers would still offer a superior source of income, says Morningstar's Josh Peters.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:16]</b> ... potential changes at the end of this year. I'm here today with <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>, editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor , to get an update on what's happening with tax laws and how it could impact dividend payers. Josh, thanks for joining me. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>: Good to be here even if it's my least favorite topic. Glaser: I know we've talked about this before, but can you ... <br/> The newly public AbbVie's dividend will be too concentrated to a single drug, while the payout from the remaining Abbott entity won't be as generous as in years past, according to Morningstar's Josh Peters.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:00]</b> ... Jeremy Glaser: For Morningstar, I'm Jeremy Glaser. I'm here today with <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>. He's editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor . We're going to talk about what's happening in the world of dividend stocks. Josh, thanks for talking with me today. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>: Good to be here, Jeremy. Glaser: So, let's start with Abbott Laboratories. This is a company that I know you've liked for ... <br/> Recent underperformance has made energy a more interesting sector for dividend investors, says Morningstar's Josh Peters, who recommends this undervalued, utility-like energy name that has strong dividend growth prospects.<br/><br/><b>[0:00:13]</b> ... stocks are one place that they've been looking. I'm here today with <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b>, editor of  Morningstar DividendInvestor , to get a performance update on dividend-paying stocks and see if they are in a bubble or not. Josh, thanks for talking with me today. <b>Josh</b> <b>Peters</b> : Good to be here. Glaser : So let's just take a quick look back at performance so far in 2012 for ... <br/>