Washington H Soul Pattinson & Company Limited

Brickworks Limited (ASX:BKW) (PINK:BRKWF) posted a Normal Net Profit After Tax ('NPAT') for the year ended 31 July 2010 of A$110.2 million, down 3.1% from A$113.7 million for the year ended 31 July 2009. After non-regular items, Brickworks' Headline NPAT was A$138.8 million, down 54.5% from A$305.2 million in the previous year.

Brickworks Limited (ASX:BKW) posted a normal net profit after tax (NPAT) of A$57 million for the half year ended 31 January 2010, up 12.1% from A$50.8 million on the previous corresponding period. Brickworks' half year headline NPAT (including non-regular items) was A$88.2 million, down 65.5% from the previous corresponding period.

Overnight US stocks ended at a fresh 13-month high ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, helped by a series of upbeat economic data. A report showed initial claims for US jobless insurance benefits plunged to their lowest levels since September last year. US incomes rose 0.2 per cent and consumer spending jumped 0.7 per cent in October. New home sales rose 6.2 per cent unexpectedly.

Wall Street declined overnight on a weak housing report, despite some strong earnings results. The Commerce Department said that construction starts on privately owned homes rose 0.5 per cent to 590,000, lower than expectations.

US stocks fell overnight in a choppy trade as the Federal Reserve announcement showed that the central bank remained cautious to the economy outlook. The Federal Reserve acknowledged the economy is emerging from recession, but maintained its near-zero interest rate and trillion-plus dollar effort to support the fragile recovery.

Overnight Wall Street posed a solid gain as an upbeat sentiment that the worst is over increased investors' appetite for riskier assets. The shares were lifted by a round of buying in financial shares and a jump in US industrial production data.

Yesterday the Australian share market extended its gains despite a weak lead on Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 0.8%, or 29.3 points, at 3609.3, while the broader All Ordinaries added 0.8%, or 28.9 points, at 3546.2.

US political leaders have struck an agreement in principle on a $US700 billion bailout plan to revive the troubled financial system. It is hoped both houses of US congress will vote on the plan within days. Wall Street and European markets have reacted positively to the news, with major indices recording gains of around two per cent.