Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 31,800	$ 35,625	$ 37,800
Accounts receivable, net	89,500	62,500	50,200
Merchandise inventory	112,500	82,500	54,000
Prepaid expenses	10,700	9,375	5,000
Plant assets, net	278,500	255,000	230,500
Total assets	$ 523,000	$ 445,000	$ 377,500
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 129,900	$ 75,250	$ 51,250
Long-term notes payable	98,500	101,500	83,500
Common stock, $10 par value	163,500	163,500	163,500
Retained earnings	131,100	104,750	79,250
Total liabilities and equity	$ 523,000	$ 445,000	$ 377,500

For both the current year and one year ago, compute the following ratios:

The companys income statements for the current year and one year ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 673,500		$ 532,000
Cost of goods sold	$ 411,225		$ 345,500
Other operating expenses	209,550		134,980
Interest expense	12,100		13,300
Income tax expense	9,525		8,845
Total costs and expenses		642,400		502,625
Net income		$ 31,100		$ 29,375
Earnings per share		$ 1.90		$ 1.80

(1) Debt and equity ratios. (2-a) Compute debt-to-equity ratio for the current year and one year ago. (2-b) Based on debt-to-equity ratio, does the company have more or less debt in the current year versus one year ago? (3-a) Times interest earned. (3-b) Based on times interest earned, is the company more or less risky for creditors in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?