Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Year	1 Year Ago	2 Years Ago
Assets
Cash	$ 36,393	$ 40,062	$ 44,765
Accounts receivable, net	102,406	73,000	57,948
Merchandise inventory	126,181	95,509	62,961
Prepaid expenses	11,151	10,950	4,877
Plant assets, net	322,735	296,743	268,449
Total assets	$ 598,866	$ 516,264	$ 439,000
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	$ 149,118	$ 86,376	$ 56,210
Long-term notes payable	112,587	122,303	94,108
Common stock, $10 par value	162,500	162,500	162,500
Retained earnings	174,661	145,085	126,182
Total liabilities and equity	$ 598,866	$ 516,264	$ 439,000

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Year		1 Year Ago
Sales		$ 778,526		$ 614,354
Cost of goods sold	$ 474,901		$ 399,330
Other operating expenses	241,343		155,432
Interest expense	13,235		14,130
Income tax expense	10,121		9,215
Total costs and expenses		739,600		578,107
Net income		$ 38,926		$ 36,247
Earnings per share		$ 2.40		$ 2.23

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

(3-a) Compute times interest earned for the current year and one year ago. (3-b) Based on times interest earned, is the company more or less risky for creditors in the Current Year versus 1 Year Ago?