Percentage Changes; P/e Ratios and Investors' Expectations
Shown Below Are

Percentage changes; p/e ratios and investors' expectations
Shown below are Gamma Limited's earnings per share for a four-year period, along with the per-share market price of the company's shares at each year-end. The earnings in 2011 were the highest in the company's history.
$\begin{array}{|l|c|c|c|c|}\hline & 2011 & 2010 & 2009 & 2008 \\\hline \text { Earnings per share } & \$ 9 & \$ 7 & \$ 6 & \$ 5 \\\hline \text { Percentage change } & \% & \% & \% & \% \\\hline \text { Year-end share price } & \$ 72 & \$ 140 & \$ 56 & \$ 50 \\\hline \text { Price/earnings ratio } & & & & \\\hline\end{array}$ (a) Compute the percentage change in earnings per share in 2009, 2010, and 2011. (Place your answers in the spaces provided above.)
(b) Compute the p/e ratio of shares at the end of each of the four years. (Place your answers in the spaces provided above.)
(c) What does the p/e ratio at the end of 2011 indicate about investors' expectations of earnings per share for the coming year? Explain your reasoning.