On April 1, 2016, BigBen Company acquired 30% of the shares of LittleTick, Inc. BigBen paid $143,000 for the investment, which is $41,000 more than 30% of the book value of LittleTick's identifiable net assets. BigBen attributed $11,800 of the $41,000 difference to inventory that will be sold in the remainder of 2016, and the rest to goodwill. LittleTick recognized a total of $17,000 of net income for 2016, and paid total dividends for the year $10,700; these dividends were issued quarterly. BigBen's investment in LittleTick will affect BigBen's 2016 net income by

a. Earnings of $2,677.
b. Earnings of $3,825.
c. A loss of $7,975.
d. Earnings of $1,148.