Retained earnings relations. Olin Corporation manufactures a diversified line of chemical products. Its sales tend to vary with changes in the business cycle. Selected data from its financial statements for four recent years appear below (amounts in millions):

a. Compute the missing amounts for each year.

b. What is the likely reason for the variations in net income and net loss?

c. Why might Olin Corporation continue to pay and even increase its dividend, given the variability in earnings?

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Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Retained Earnings, Beginning of Year $499 ? $388 $238 Net Income... (13)a $ 9 ? 91 Dividends Declared and Paid 51 56 58 ? Retained Earnings, End of Year ? 388 238 269