The following footnote appeared in a recent financial statement of Westlaghouse Electric:
The corporation considers all investment securities with a maturity of three months or less when acquired to be cash equivalents. All cash and temporary investments are placed with high-credit-quality financial institutions, and the amount of credit expose to any one financial institution in limited. At December 31, cash and cash equivalents include restricted funds of $42 million.
a. Are the company's cash equivalents debts or equity securities? how do you know?
b. Explain what is meant by the statement that "the credit expose to any one financial institution in limited?
c. Explain what is meant by the term restricted funds used in the footnote?