The Morris Corporation has $700,000 of debt outstanding, and it pays an interest rate of 8% annually. Morris's annual sales are $3.5 million, its average tax rate is 30%, and its net profit margin on sales is 4%. If the company does not maintain a TIE ratio of at least 3 to 1, its bank will refuse to renew the loan and bankruptcy will result. What is Morris's TIE ratio? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to two decimal places.

Garrett is an executive vice president at samm hardware. he researches a proposal by a larger company, maximum hardware, to combine the two companies. by analyzing past performance, conducting focus groups, and interviewing maximum employees, garrett concludes that maximum has poor profit margins, sells shoddy merchandise, and treats customers poorly. what actions should garrett and samm hardware take? a. turn down the acquisition offer and prepare to resist a hostile takeover. b. attempt a friendly merger and use managerial hubris to improve results at maximum. c. welcome the acquisition and use knowledge transfer to impart sam hardware's management practices. d. do nothing; the two companies cannot combine without samm hardware's explicit consent.