Dividend stocks to buy in a rising rate environment. Plus, why the bull case for Japan's equity market is misguided

Scotiabank's global research team has unveiled a new list of dividend-oriented stock ideas designed for a rising rate environment. Named The Dividend Yield Champions, they are more than two dozen ideas primarily based in Canada but U.S. and Latin American names are also provided. Recent performance in both Canadian and U.S. dividend exchange-traded funds has been poor. Domestically, the iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats Index ETF (CDZ-T) and the iShares S&P/TSX Composite High Dividend Index ETF (XEI-T) have generated positive returns year to date, but have significantly underperformed the S&P/TSX Composite Index. In the U.S., only three of the largest…