[The following information applies to the questions displayed below.] Simon Companys year-end balance sheets follow.

At December 31	Current Yr					1 Yr Ago			2 Yrs Ago
Assets
Cash		$	35,233			$	39,569		$	42,068
Accounts receivable, net			98,112				72,779			58,952
Merchandise inventory			127,134				92,438			59,724
Prepaid expenses			11,235				10,811			4,865
Plant assets, net			313,750				289,113			267,991
Total assets		$	585,464			$	504,710		$	433,600
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	144,323			$	83,590		$	57,235
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			106,765				118,405			96,784
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			171,876				140,215			117,081
Total liabilities and equity		$	585,464			$	504,710		$	433,600

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	761,103					$	600,605
Cost of goods sold	$	464,273					$	390,393
Other operating expenses		235,942						151,953
Interest expense		12,939						13,814
Income tax expense		9,894						9,009
Total costs and expenses					723,048						565,169
Net income				$	38,055					$	35,436
Earnings per share				$	2.34					$	2.18

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?

Debt Ratio Choose Numerator: 1 Choose Denominator: Debt Ratio / Debt ratio Current Year: / % 1 Year Ago: / % Equity Ratio Choose Numerator: 1 Choose Denominator: Equity Ratio Equity ratio / II Current Year: 1 % 1 Year Ago: 1 = % Debt-To-Equity Ratio Choose Numerator: 1 Choose Denominator: Debt-To-Equity Ratio Debt-to-equity ratio / Current Year: 1 = to 1 1 Year Ago: / to 1 Times Interest Earned Choose Numerator: / Choose Denominator: Times Interest Earned / Times interest earned Current Year: / times 1 Year Ago: / times Times interest earned