Kansas City Southern

We turn to the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index for stock ideas.

We take a numerical look through this week's Morningstar research. Plus, our most popular articles and videos for the week ended Nov. 11.

Defense is likely to be the clearest beneficiary, with a mixed impact for other sectors.

We've added to the roster of attractively priced, competitively advantaged companies.

Our wide moat ratings are intact for all six railroads, however.

We're unenthusiastic about the valuation of the broader market, but opportunities can be found in a few out-of-favor sectors.

Despite low fuel prices pointing toward the contrary, railroads' competitive advantages remain strong against transportation rivals.

This ETF has been battered by the decline in energy prices and weakness in emerging markets.

Interested investors may consider this ETF, the largest that holds U.S. transportation companies, which have been battered by sagging commodity prices.

Containers, coal, crude, and codes are investors' current concerns.

iShares Global Infrastructure provides a broad, inexpensive way to invest in global infrastructure.

New Best Idea highlighted, but otherwise, value hard to find.

In an excerpt from their new book, Morningstar's Heather Brilliant and Elizabeth Collins explore how to identify a moat and how intangible assets can help a firm carve out a sustainable competitive advantage.

We are concerned about a slow start to U.S. light-vehicle sales this year, but we expect improvement once the cold abates.

Class I railroads have cost advantages and scale efficiencies that give them a competitive edge over lesser players.

Morningstar's Matt Coffina and Keith Schoonmaker discuss why companies in this sector have wide moats and which are the best railroads for long-term investors.

Railroads bolstered our confidence in the persistence of excess returns via solid performance through the recent recession and coal weakness.

Widening investment-grade credit spreads and rising interest rates lead to losses.

The longer that interest rates and credit spreads continue to generate historically low all-in yields, the more asset managers will stray from their traditional investment allocations.

Get our sector-by-sector take on the bond market, plus our five best bond ideas.