[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		$	33,115			$	39,104		$	40,322
Accounts receivable, net			97,937				68,431			55,408
Merchandise inventory			124,368				88,600			58,425
Prepaid expenses			10,773				10,576			4,480
Plant assets, net			306,537				287,022			256,965
Total assets		$	572,730			$	493,733		$	415,600
Liabilities and Equity
Accounts payable		$	138,331			$	85,944		$	55,956
Long-term notes payable secured by mortgages on plant assets			110,903				112,423			90,011
Common stock, $10 par value			162,500				162,500			162,500
Retained earnings			160,996				132,866			107,133
Total liabilities and equity		$	572,730			$	493,733		$	415,600

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

For Year Ended December 31	Current Yr						1 Yr Ago
Sales				$	744,549					$	587,542
Cost of goods sold	$	454,175					$	381,902
Other operating expenses		230,810						148,648
Interest expense		12,657						13,513
Income tax expense		9,679						8,813
Total costs and expenses					707,321						552,876
Net income				$	37,228					$	34,666
Earnings per share				$	2.29					$	2.13

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?