Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr	1 Yr Ago	2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash	36,194	43,603	43,630
Accounts receivable, net	103,832	76,305	58,767
Merchandise inventory	137,278	100,832	65,135
Prepaid expenses	11,656	11,332	4,897
Plant assets, net	337,022	307,568	277,271
Total assets	625,982	539,640	449,700
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable	158,987	89,375	57,580
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets	116,508	122,876	98,390
Common stock, $10 par value	162,500	162,500	162,500
Retained earnings	187,987	164,889	131,230
Total liabilities and equity	625,982	539,640	449,700

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr		1 Yr Ago
Sales		813,777		642,172
Cost of goods sold	496,404		417,412
Other operating expenses	252,271		162,470
Interest expense	13,834		14,770
Income tax expense	10,579		9,633
Total costs and expenses		773,088		604,285
Net income		40,689		37,887
Earnings per share		2.50		2.33

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?

** There is no incomplete sentences