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[The following information applies to the questions displayed below.] Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	30,974			$	36,206		$	37,714
Accounts receivable, net			89,400				62,100			51,200
Merchandise inventory			111,000				85,000			55,000
Prepaid expenses			9,975				9,504			4,190
Plant assets, net			288,936				264,332			236,696
Total assets		$	530,285			$	457,142		$	384,800
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	130,721			$	76,484		$	50,286
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			98,697				104,091			84,190
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			138,367				114,067			87,824
Total liabilities and equity		$	530,285			$	457,142		$	384,800

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow. Assume that all sales are on credit:

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	689,371					$	543,999
Cost of goods sold	$	420,516					$	353,599
Other operating expenses		213,705						137,632
Interest expense		11,719						12,512
Income tax expense		8,962						8,160
Total costs and expenses					654,902						511,903
Net income				$	34,469					$	32,096
Earnings per share				$	2.12					$	1.98

(4-a) Compute days' sales in inventory. (4-b) For each ratio, determine if it improved or worsened in the current year.