Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr			1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs 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 secured by mortgages on plant assets		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

The companys income statements for the current year and 1 year ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr 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

For both the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, compute the following ratios:

(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?