Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	25,856			$	29,924		$	29,649
Accounts receivable, net			74,197				52,368			39,936
Merchandise inventory			93,289				71,276			43,829
Prepaid expenses			7,997				7,855			3,261
Plant assets, net			232,564				212,631			188,925
Total assets		$	433,903			$	374,054		$	305,600
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	109,122			$	63,847		$	39,532
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			83,205				86,893			66,187
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			79,076				60,814			37,381
Total liabilities and equity		$	433,903			$	374,054		$	305,600

The companys income statements for the Current Year and 1 Year Ago, follow.

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	564,074					$	445,124
Cost of goods sold	$	344,085					$	289,331
Other operating expenses		174,863						112,616
Interest expense		9,589						10,238
Income tax expense		7,333						6,677
Total costs and expenses					535,870						418,862
Net income				$	28,204					$	26,262
Earnings per share				$	1.74					$	1.62

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

(1) Debt and equity ratios.

(2) Debt-to-equity ratio.

(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?