Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	30,201			$	35,303		$	37,149
Accounts receivable, net			89,700				62,600			51,700
Merchandise inventory			113,500				82,500			52,000
Prepaid expenses			9,726				9,267			4,128
Plant assets, net			279,209				260,620			237,923
Total assets		$	522,336			$	450,290		$	382,900
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	127,460			$	74,577		$	49,532
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			96,235				101,495			82,928
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			136,141				111,718			87,940
Total liabilities and equity		$	522,336			$	450,290		$	382,900

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				$	679,037					$	535,845
Cost of goods sold	$	414,213					$	348,299
Other operating expenses		210,501						135,569
Interest expense		11,544						12,324
Income tax expense		8,827						8,038
Total costs and expenses					645,085						504,230
Net income				$	33,952					$	31,615
Earnings per share				$	2.09					$	1.95

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