Buffett Buys stake in Goldman Sachs

Warren Buffett the Richest man in the World, and Greatest Investor ever bought $5 billion of perpetual preferred stock with a 10 percent dividend. Berkshire also gets warrants to buy $5 billion of common stock at $115 a share at any time in the next five years.

Goldman is offering 2.5 Billion NEW Shares of Common Stock. This is dillutive to the current float of Goldman Sachs and Effectively makes each current common share worth less. This was a less talked about in many of the Goldman/Buffett Headlines.

Buffett did not get to be the richest man in the world by investing in businesses and giving the existing owners and shareholders the best deal.

How far can the Government Go? and Will this actually help the Markets?

Here are the facts:

The Government has vowed to bail out any financial institution that is "too big too fail". Many Financial Institutions of all shapes and sizes are in serious trouble. The numbers they are trying to run are crippled. Global equities markets have been on a percipitious decline for the last 10 months. Credit is becoming harder and harder to come by. Banks are no longer lending each other money with open arms. Extension of Credit and the ability to pay back a loan is key to our economy functioning. Housing prices have been falling, due to the massive over building and speculation due to very low interest rates and cheap money for years and years. The Government can literally cover the 1 trillion dollar tab of all of the bad mortgage paper.

Here is what I think will happen......

The Gov will put all of the garbage loans into one company and funds its money losing operations attempting to help stabilize the mortgage finance and credit markets.

Will this Help the Markets? Sure. The Government is going the distance and is committed to solving the problems. They are doing what they can to prevent a total immediate collapse.

However, the process for stocks to be richly valued as an asset class again is going to take some time. As Traders we must recognize when any financial instrument is attracting more excited and emotional Sellers than Buyers, or vice versa.

The Government is here to do the ugly job of assisting the market, how ever they can. If it happens to burden tax payers to fend off a "systematic collapse", then that is just the price we must pay. We Don't have a Choice.

Free Markets are not Free. The Rewards are Privatized and the Risks are Socialized. This is how it is, and we can't do much about.

Little Kids with AK 47's

Why are little foriegn kids with AK 47's so funny to me?

NAV from $100 to $240 from August 1st to September 17th 2008

The Net Asset Value of Modad Derivatives LLC from August 1st 2008 to September 17th 2008 increased from $100.00 per share to $240.00 dollars per share. That is a 140% return in less than two months.

If $100,000 was Invested on August 1st 2008 that is $240,000 today.

This was thanks to effective Risk Management, consistent use of my equity curve, and buying puts on Research in Motion RIMM, Apple Computers AAPL, and The S&P 500 Index SPY.

How does the stock chart of your Broker Dealer Look?

Teaching Nigerian Kids to Trade Options and Futures

I am going to Africa one day to set up a Proprietary Trading Firm to tech Nigerians how to Trade Options and Futures. We will seed these Traders and give them equity as they deserve it. This could be something that alters the entire socioeconomic alchemy of the World as we know it. People have always been giving to a charities and it has not solved their host of problems. Perhaps giving them the skills to to something useful is the key. Maybe these Kids are the next Goldman Sachs?

Thoughts on CNBC

CNBC is easily the most popular cable financial news network in the world. The exciting, entertaining and cutting edge format of the network is second to none. With Market Coverage 24 hours per day during the trading session and many well known on air personalities and commentators, and with shows like Mad Money and Fast Money CNBC is truly "Where Business Turns First".

CNBC is like a water. All Humans need water to survive, but if they are thrown into a pool of water and can't swim then they will drown. Investors and Traders need to know what is going on. CNBC is a great place for such information. CNBC is a never ending flow of information, opinions and commentary. If we actually followed the recommendations of the people on CNBC we are always going to be late to the party, on the other side of the trade with someone else who knows more than us, and having too many diluted low quality ideas. How can anyone make sense of all this information?

Many Investor types end up buying stock in the so called "Leading Companies" after hearing about them some how from some one on CNBC. If the Stock price declines, they hold because their investment is in a "Solid Company" with great Assets, Products, ect. This makes the Investor feel comfortable, well informed and savvy.

The purpose of CNBC for public companies is to promote their stock, and tell the investing community their story.

The Good News: These Public Relations campaigns can turn people on to some great investments they would other wise not know about.

The Bad News: These are Public Relations campaigns. They are designed to highlight the "Good" in the businesses. The Annual Report is for the Risk Disclosures and all of the not so fun things to talk about.

CNBC makes Traders and Investors into Celebrities. They glamorize the life style of Trading, Wall Street and Money Management. CNBC simply provides Entertainment in the form of Financial Information. Many people think this is what it's all about. The good life is what they want, so CNBC is what they focus on. CNBC becomes their primary source of strategies and information.

The primary focus of Traders should be Risk Management and Money Management, not CNBC. Shows on CNBC such as Mad Money and Fast Money occupy parking space in the minds of helpless Traders.

Steak Dinners and Crappy Returns

If any Financial Sales person ever offers to take you out for dinner/and or Lunch at a fancy Steak Restaurant do 3 things.

1) Take advantage of their generous offer. It is a fact that food tastes better when you don't pay for it.

2) Order the most expensive item on the menu. Never order Chicken, Burgers or just a Salad. Remember you are not paying. Go for the Big Ticket Items. Casually Order a $60 dollar steak, appetizers and alcoholic beverages like its a $5 dollar foot long from Subway with chips and coca cola.

3) Beware of crappy returns if you actually follow their "Investment" advice and buy into what they are selling. Listen to their pitch and run the numbers yourself.

Did you really think that because some guy called to tell you that you and 5 friends have won a free lunch, that he is capable managing millions of dollars?

A new study found, The more often Series 7 Registered Reps take prospects out for lunches/dinners, the more likely the returns will be lower than those of the major market averages.

The Top Investment Managers don't need to impress people with Fillet Mignon, Prime Rib, and Lamb Chops.

Executive Order 12631--Working Group on Financial Markets

The Government manipulates stock and futures market prices to maintain investor confidence in times of market stress. The Group was established explicitly in response to events in the financial markets surrounding October 19, 1987 ("Black Monday") to give recommendations for legislative and private sector solutions for "enhancing the integrity, efficiency, orderliness, and competitiveness of [United States] financial markets and maintaining investor confidence"

Read on for yourself. Here is the proof.


Executive Order 12631--Working Group on Financial Markets

Source: The provisions of Executive Order 12631 of Mar. 18, 1988, appear at 53 FR 9421, 3 CFR, 1988 Comp., p. 559, unless otherwise noted.

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish a Working Group on Financial Markets, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment. (a) There is hereby established a Working Group on Financial Markets (Working Group). The Working Group shall be composed of:
(1) the Secretary of the Treasury, or his designee;
(2) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or his designee;
(3) the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or his designee; and
(4) the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or her designee.
(b) The Secretary of the Treasury, or his designee, shall be the Chairman of the Working Group.
Sec. 2. Purposes and Functions. (a) Recognizing the goals of enhancing the integrity, efficiency, orderliness, and competitiveness of our Nation's financial markets and maintaining investor confidence, the Working Group shall identify and consider:
(1) the major issues raised by the numerous studies on the events in the financial markets surrounding October 19, 1987, and any of those recommendations that have the potential to achieve the goals noted above; and
(2) the actions, including governmental actions under existing laws and regulations (such as policy coordination and contingency planning), that are appropriate to carry out these recommendations.
(b) The Working Group shall consult, as appropriate, with representatives of the various exchanges, clearinghouses, self-regulatory bodies, and with major market participants to determine private sector solutions wherever possible.
(c) The Working Group shall report to the President initially within 60 days (and periodically thereafter) on its progress and, if appropriate, its views on any recommended legislative changes.
Sec. 3. Administration. (a) The heads of Executive departments, agencies, and independent instrumentalities shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Working Group such information as it may require for the purpose of carrying out this Order.
(b) Members of the Working Group shall serve without additional compensation for their work on the Working Group.
(c) To the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability of funds therefore, the Department of the Treasury shall provide the Working Group with such administrative and support services as may be necessary for the performance of its functions.

Account Blow Ups

The Account Blow Up is a dramatic and devastating event that most likely every trader will experience before they develop an effective strategy for success.

The Account Blow Up on an equity curve Looks Similar to a stock chart of a Stock in decline like Fannie, Freddie, or Lehman. I am willing to bet most Traders who have Blow ups do not actively use equity curves. I blew up before I used an equity curve.

The Pressure of Trying to Make Returns can be too much for some Traders. They always feel pressured to work hard and they end up trading too often. They feel the need to trade all of the time. Traders will always develop elaborate reasons on why the market should move their way. They will also likely look for guidance from the Media such as CNBC and Bloomberg. They trade without a plan. Their attempts at success become more desperate and hopeless. They do not take any time off from losing money. They Take on Too Many low quality positions. They only focus on How they need to make money, and How much money they can make. They Hold onto Losing Trades and Add more money into them. They Sell Winners too soon, over and over again. They look back at all of the Trades they missed, and the money they lost and feel sorry for themselves.

They literally cannot stop themselves from account destruction. The Reason is because they do not follow any type of Risk Management.

Who knows what to Believe? Lehman Files for Bankruptcy. Bank of America for Merrill Lynch? What about AIG and Washington Mutual?

Lehman Brothers officially declared on Sunday that they will seek Bankruptcy protection. After Bank of America, and Barclays decided they were not interested.

Bank of America for Merrill? "people inside the company" from Merrill Lynch are allegedly in talks with Bank of America for a $25 to $30 per share buyout offer. This seems crazy to me with what we know about the prices of other similar money losing portfolios. How can these news sources even report such speculation?

AIG is trying to stave off credit downgrades that would force it to post more than $13 billion in collateral. They are seeking capital from buyout firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, J.C. Flowers & Co, and China Investment Bank said "a person familiar with the situation"

No one seems to be talking about Washington Mutual, at least for now. Who is going to bail them out?

This sitution is getting worse before it gets better. The Night is Always the Darkest before the Dawn.

From Bail Out Hopes to Bankruptcy Court, Lehman Brothers is Running out of Time

The most powerful financial decision makers in the World gathered at the New York Federal Reserve Bank in New York over the weekend and could not reach a deal to save Lehman Brothers.

Here are some key points of the deal that almost was:

(1) A consortium of Major Financial Institutions throw in $3 Billion Dollars each to help absorb the losses of the $85 Billion Real Estate portfolio of Lehman Brothers, to help stabilize the market is those securities.
(2) For $5 Billion Dollars some one could buy just the Investment Bank and Asset Management Business.
(3) No Federal Funding or assistance of any kind is available.

The Banks could not agree on who was going to get the "Good" Lehman Assets, and who would be responsible for losses on the toxic mortgage assets.

Financial firms have started ``netting'' Lehman trades on credit, equity, interest-rate, foreign exchange, and commodity derivatives, according to a statement from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association e-mailed to Bloomberg News.

``ISDA confirms a netting trading session will take place between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. New York time for over-the-counter derivatives,'' the ISDA said. ``Trades are contingent on a bankruptcy filing at or before 11:59 p.m. New York time, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. If there is no filing, the trades cease to exist.''

Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third- biggest bank, said it abandoned talks to buy Lehman, contending it couldn't obtain guarantees to protect against potential losses at the U.S. securities firm.

Lehman may be the First Big Well Known Investment Bank that is actually allowed to fail. If the Brokers and Banks can work together to essentially take the other sides of the Over the counter trades they had with Lehman, the damage can be mitigated as much as possible. This is not going to be a pretty solution, however it is practical, necessary, and the only viable option to prevent a serious market meltdown.

Expect Monday to be an interesting day in the markets.

Meredith Whitney-The Bears Goldilocks Goddess of Doom and Gloom

Obviously not all Financial Analysts give investors bad information. Some Large Brokerage Firm Analysts make bold market calls that are unpopular, shockingly accurate, and exceptionally profitable for the people who listen.

Meredith Whitney is one such analyst. Whitney, Managing Director of Oppenheimer & Co appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox News. She correctly called the Credit Crisis and warned of Billions of Dollars in Write Downs in the pipeline from the Largest Banks and Broker Dealers. She was Bearish and accurate on the fall of Citigroup in Oct of 2007. She cooly defeneded her opinions on Television in the face of the Dog and Pony show of the Wall Street Promotion Machine hundreds of times.

If you have ever shorted a financial stock or purchased puts hoping the stock would go to zero in a few weeks, then she is your kinda gal.

The Question now is whether Whitney will be able to successfuly call a Bottom in the Macro Economy and the Equity Markets. When she does call a bottom take notice because it will likley move the markets.

Lehman Brothers-Take Over or Take Under?

Today the Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America is in talks with Lehman Brothers about buying the Investment Bank.

Is the equity going to "Taken Over" for a Higher price than the $4 dollar stock?

Is the common stock going to be "Taken Under" to virtually zero to do the deal?

The Market is waiting to see how the people in the know are valuing the equity portion and stock capitalization of the largest broker dealers. High leverage, and illiquid money losing mortgage backed securities could actually deplete all of the firms equity, driving the value of the common stock to zero.

The terms of this deal will shine light on the portfolio's current pricing. The market is looking to Lehman Brothers to gauge demand for these hard to value, and even harder to liquidate mortgage backed securities.

It should be a Fun weekend for all involved. The Deadline is Monday September 15th 2008 before Asia opens.



It seems Some type of deal will be done to ensure the markets remain orderly no matter how ugly it is for Lehman Brothers common stock holders.

How Analysts and the Media Screwed "Investors" with Lehman Brothers

This is How Analysts and the Media trick people into buying stocks when the institutions are selling and exiting from their positions. Many Analysts Firms go through this process of Writing Reports, Changing Price Targets, Upgrades and Downgrades and Appearing on TV to promote their clients interests. They are getting out when you are getting in. Here is just one such story.

The talk on and off the street is none other than Lehman Brothers. LEH has dropped over 80% from last year. The Stock has been on tailspin due to Ultra Leverage from a Massive portfolio of Mort age Backed and Real Estate Securities that are all but Illiquid.

Dick Bove, Analyst with Ladenburg Thalmann made a Brilliant call telling people to Buy LEH around $20 on the rumor that a South Korean Bank may want to "Buy out" the stock. He notoriously and wrongly called the bottom of financials on every business news channel (CNBC, Bloomberg, who actually watches Fox?)at the Beginning of the real financial calamity. This was months Before the Government was Bailing out Fannie and Freddie, taking over Indy Mac, and Lehman Brothers troubles today.

Bove's job is to help the institutions get out of their LEH shares and get dumb people into them. It is NOT to help the Public Make money by doing what he advises.

Bove's ratings on the stocks he covers is actually designed to encourage people to invest more and more money into their losing trades.

This guy literally has people selling the lows and buying the highs.

How does this Happen?

Step 1. This nice Looking old man who looks like Santa Claus in a Business Suit Comes on CNBC.



Step 2. He Tells you why the Financials should bottom now as they are rallying. Bove says the financials will lead a turn around in the economy of 6 months down the line, so buy now. This no time to sit on the sidelines. The Rally is BIG. But the Rally is NOT Based on Fundamentals. You Buy, the stocks go up for a few days, then it starts going down and fast.

Step 3. Bove says buy more. He publishes antoher glowing report. He Does even more TV interviews. He liked it at $80. He loves it at $40. And At $20 its a steal. Now LEH is at $7. Who knew Making money was so easy.

Here are Boves calls on LEH. From Punk Ziegel to Landburg Thalmann he was always wrong for anyone actually following his calls. Source: www.Briefing.com

29-Aug-06 Punk, Ziegel & Co Down Buy/Mrkt Perform $117/127
12-Jan-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Accumulate $84 $91
05-Mar-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Down Accumulate/Market Perform
14-Mar-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Market Perform $91 $81
12-Jun-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Market Perform $81 $86
18-Jul-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Downgraded Market Perform Sell
07-Aug-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Sell $86 $59
15-Nov-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Upgraded Sell Market Perform
04-Dec-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Downgraded Market Perform Sell
14-Dec-07 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Sell $68 $61
04-Feb-08 Punk, Ziegel & Co Upgraded Market Perform Buy
08-Feb-08 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Buy $61 $71
29-Feb-08 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Buy $71 $65
19-Mar-08 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Buy $53 $51
01-Apr-08 Punk, Ziegel & Co Reiterated Buy $51 $46
21-May-08 Ladenburg Thalmann Reiterated Neutral $48 $38
22-May-08 Ladenburg Thalmann Downgraded Neutral Sell $38 $35
06-Aug-08 Ladenburg Thalmann Reiterated Neutral $27 $23
21-Aug-08 Ladenburg Thalmann Upgraded Neutral Buy $23 $20

LEH Chart-1 year.



By listening to Bove you would have never made any money and lost virtually ever thing you had invested. By using simple risk Management guidelines you would have been out of any losing trades far before they would cost you so much money.

Don't Ever tell me you lost a lot of Money

If you are Trading according to proper Risk/Reward Management Strategies you should never Lose a lot of money, At least at any one time.

If your losing over a long series (15-20) of Trades and Bad judgments, and told me that you "lost a lot of money" I may even feel bad for you.

But when its over 1 day, and you say utter those words, its clear you are not using an equity curve or following any real risk management plan.

Holding a Trade for "a lot" of money losing negative equity movement will drain all of your money eventually.
You should only Hold Winning Trades for Large amounts of time, or for "a lot" of Gains. This is why your Trading.


This Message was Brought to you by the Fine People of Risk Management, Inc.


Remember Friends Don't Let Friends Hold onto Losing Trades and Sell Winners To Soon.

The Mathematics of Trading

When I first started Trading I did not calculate much of anything regarding my system into Mathematical terms. As a kid I never liked math class. I could care less when two trains are on separate tracks when they will pass each other if they are 240 miles apart, and Train A is going 100 miles per hour and Train B is going 80 Miles per hour.

Maybe I should have paid more attention in math class. Good Trading is all about the Mathematics of your System, and specifically your Risk Management Rules. When I first started Trading I did not have a Mathematical Plan or a Risk Management System. I focused on Fundamental analysis, by reading books on Warren Buffett. Then Technical with charts, moving averages,software, and data. Then I read books on the Psychology of Trading. This all did for me all of nothing in the practical trading.

After coming across a book called Way of the Turtle by Curtis Faith I decided to calculate the mathematics of my Trading. For more specific advice please consult the book. I don't enjoy math enough to break it all down here on the web, even for too many detailed examples.

When getting into the Trading World I did not even consider math relevant to trading except to calculate my business expenses and trading profits. I thought that if I Traded according to my "system", then the math would "work itself out". I was wrong. I learned about the Mathematics of Trading the Expensive Way.

The Key is not to Expose too large of a percentage of your account to negative equity price movements.

You don't need to figure out the different risks that are in the market for your different positions, and over think what is happening in the market. You Don't need to over complicate the Situation. Simplicity is your friend.

You only Need to know 3 things

What % of Capital to Risk in any Trade
How to exit if the trade becomes Unprofitable
How to exit if the trade becomes Profitable

1. What % of your Capital to risk per Trade

First and by far the most important. At Risk means exposed positions to closed markets, and maximum loss of total account on a percentage basis. If Trader A lets his net account balance decline by 20% before exiting trades, then his account will be completely wiped out after only 4 more losing Trades. Trader B risks only 2% of his account on any Trade. Trader A has 5 Shots to figure out Trading. Trader B has 50 Chances to catch a big winner. You need to figure how much you can risk, and lose at least 10 times in a row. The self insurance policy of adequate capital reserves is your key to future profits, so it must be protected at all costs. You need to figure out exactly how many shares, contracts, ect that you can buy or sell at any time.

2. How to exit if the trade becomes Unprofitable

The main problem for the majority of Traders, and it can be the most devastating to your financial Statements. After you have followed Step 1, move on towards step 2. If you skip step 1 you could have losing trades with so much % of your account you won't need step 2. Step 2 is Simple. If any Trade decreases a percentage of your entire account equity to your max risk limit always exit immediately.

3. How to exit if the trade becomes Profitable

This is what we call a "High Quality" Problem. We all Trade to find the Winners. Mathematically how much reward can you expect based on how far the stock has moved in the past? How much extra Financial risk is in the Trade now that its winning? The Problem for most Traders is they get into winning Trades, and end up getting out too soon. Many Traders take a Large position size, and try to grab a few points. Essentially Risking more for Less. This also affects the way they trade. They are more prone to make Trading Errors.

The Mathematics of Profit Taking

If you are holding onto your losing Trades longer than your winning Trades it is going to be impossible for you to make any money. Setting Price Percentage upward Targets can work. You need to do the math yourself and the work.

You need to know what % of your net account are you going to take profits on. If you set a 2% stop Loss per trade, and booked profits after winning 8% moves, then you could have 3 for 1 losing Trades, and still be up 2% overall. If you could do this every day, compound interest would reward you handsomely.

If your taking 20% or more losses and cutting winners after 10%, that math clearly does not work out in your favor. You need twice as many winners as losers just to break even. The math will not work for you regardless of your method of analysis. Or your execution.

The Art of Profit Taking

After you understand the basic math on profit taking for your "system" you can always fine tune your process and presence in an the trading environment to Maximize your profits. This is can offer as much of a challenge as you would like. There are markets Trading anything and eveything 24 hours a day. The possibilities are endless.

Treasury Bails out Fannie and Freddie. Equity races to Zero

It was obvious from the a brief glance at the financial statements of Fannie and Freddie that the "common stock" was basically worth nothing. Barrons almost killed Fannie And Freddie with the article declaring to the reading Public they have negative equity values of about (-$50) Billion Dollars a peice. All Hopes of getting private capital to invest was done. These people had lost enough money already. The Stocks bounced and rallied hard to over 100% in a week on the annocements the government was "working on a resuce plan".

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart yesterday placed the two firms in a government-operated conservatorship, ousting their chief executives and eliminating their dividends. The Treasury may purchase up to $200 billion of stock in the firms to keep them solvent. Paulson even said the equity holders would likley not likely make their money back. Who ever is not out of these stocks now will likely just watch these babies drift to around zero Dollars soon, as I suggested in a previous Blog Post.




The Traders figured the Gov was going to save the stocks. They Bought Large Amounts of the Cheap Shares. Uh oh. The government guarantees the debt obligations of the company. The Key is so these companies can continue to buy mortgages and housing market does not collapse any further. The government needed to do something to Protect Fannie and Fannie bondholders, which include many pension funds, foreign central banks and mutual funds.

``This action should lead to an increased availability of mortgage financing, which will help achieve stability in housing,'' Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis.

Only time will tell if this is a Band Aid or a Long Term Solution to the Housing Market Melt Down. Happy Trading.

When are House Prices Gonna Bottom?

Today someone asked me "When do I think the Housing Market Will Turn Around"?
The answer is so simple it is easy to miss. When Houses are affordable again, then the Housing Market will turn around. When a people are able to buy houses in their desired area according to the general level of welfare.

It is hard to value a house as an asset. Your Bank calls it is an Asset, But it does not produce any income. It is actually a "Liability".

The Pyramid of Multiple Layers of Massive Leverage, Inflated Prices and Illiquid Nature of the Housing Market is a process that needs to play out. Perhaps 5 Years.

If house Prices dropped including forecloses and bank sales by 50% I would buy a house. That's how cheap I think houses are now. That's My opinion, I could be wrong. If we watch the signs of the Housing Market we should be able to see it turn.

The housing market is not like Trading Forex with massive Leverage after US government data with no stop loss. The Destruction happens slower.

I would not buy a House In New Orleans. I would love to visit. But to own property there serves no purpose for me, or joy because I would not want it to get flooded. Perhaps there are areas of the world inhabitable by our changing weather patters.

To Stimulate our economy we need something BIG to happen like T. Boone Picken's Plan for Wind Farms and Comp Natural Gas. Energy Independence and Boom in building the new infrastructure for Gas Stations.