The following table was taken from the 2008 annual report of Merck & Company, a major U.S. pharmaceutical company (dollars in millions).
REQUIRED:
a. What is comprehensive income and how does it differ from net income?
b. This table indicates that Merck carries certain kinds of investments on its balance sheet. What are they, and what happened to the values of those investments in 2008, 2007, and 2006?