Bomb blasts shake Australian market

Spectators and runners run from what was described as twin explosions that shook the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Source: AP

ALMOST $9 billion has been stripped from the Australian sharemarket this morning as losses continued after US markets were rattled by the Boston blast and news of a China slowdown.

Yesterday almost $15 billion was lost from Australian companies in the worst one day fall in a month on the release of figures showing the Chinese economic resurgence had faltered.

This morning the market was down 0.6 per cent, or 32.9 points, to 4935.

Overnight US stocks suffered their biggest losses for the year as the S&P 500 dropping 2.3 per cent. This was its biggest fall since November.

IG Markets strategist Evan Lucas said it was going to be tough day on the market.

"Brace yourselves today," Mr Lucas.

"The sell-off will be sharp and indiscriminate, loss will be across the board, not even the defensives will escape the flight to safety today."

IG Markets analyst Chris Weston said it would be a "dark day" for the Australian sharemarket today.

"Any kind of terrorist attack is going to take away from sentiment," Mr Weston said.

"Markets hate uncertainty - people sell and they work out what's happened later.

"You just don't know what's going to happen - is it going to result in an escalation or are there other areas in the US that could get hit?"

But Mr Weston said the market was in free-fall even before the bombs, with commodity prices such as gold, silver and copper taking a huge dive.

"We've had a period of soft global data from the US and Chinese data that was quite poor relative to expectations,'' he said.

The major miners that rely on Chinese trade continued to suffer losses.

This morning BHP has fallen another 1.83 per cent after dropping 3.1 per cent yesterday. Rio Tinto is down 1.6 per cent after falling 3.2 per cent yesterday.

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Miners lose jobs over the Harlem Shake

A group of work mates have lost their jobs doing the Harlem Shake while on duty. Courtesy Today Network Nine

WA miners performing the Harlem Shake. Picture: YouTube Source: Supplied

• Miners lose jobs for dancing the 'Harlem Shake'
• Companies sack workers for late-night performance
• Miners argue against the issue of safety breaches
• US airline investigated over Harlem Shake safety

THIRTY seconds of fun has cost up to 15 miners their jobs in Western Australia.

A group of workers from Barminco and Hahn Electrical Contracting were fired for their involvement in a re-enactment of the viral dance craze, the Harlem Shake.

The news comes as US aviation safety authorities investigate an incident where an airline allowed university students and passengers to perform the popular dance in the aisles of a plane during a flight.

One of the sacked miners claims no safety regulations were breached, and a second says no-one was endangered in the stunt at Agnew gold mine, the West Australian reports.

The Barminco staff have not only been fired, but banned for life, according to a letter of dismissal.

Are you, or do you know, one of the miners? Contact Daniel Piotrowski

Apparently all the miners involved were wearing helmets, lamps, and glasses and had oxygen on hand. The workers believe their only breach of rules was removing their long-sleeve shirts.

WA miners performing the Harlem Shake. Picture: YouTube Source: Supplied

"It was 2.30 in the morning and we thought we just had to do something to get us going again," one unnamed worker said.

"Sometimes you lose a bit of momentum at that time of the morning."

It took a week for all of the miners to lose their jobs after the 30-second clip was uploaded to YouTube.

Meanwhile in the US, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is looking at an incident on board a Frontier Airlines flight from Colorado Springs to San Diego.

The university students, members of their school's ultimate frisbee team, had permission from the flight crew to perform the Harlem Shake and recruit fellow passengers using the PA system.

A video of the shenanigans - Harlem Shake Frontier Flight 157 - had more than three millions views on YouTube at 8am AEDT.

The FAA has taken more of a dim view on the fun and games.

A spokesman said: "If we find any evidence of a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations, then we would pursue it."

The airline says it followed safety procedures and turned the seatbelt sign off.

Student Matt Zelin told his school's newspaper is surprised the incident is under review.

"When we got to the airport we were kind of ready and had brought costumes and stuff," he said.

"Obviously I hope that this whole situation is solved with the FAA. "I don't see there being any reason why this should cause any trouble.

"We asked the staff and they said it was safe."

That will be a question for the authorities. But as one YouTube user said: "life is too short not to have a banana suit on a plane".

Five bored teenagers from the Sunshine Coast have sparked a viral dance craze that has collectively generated about 20million YouTube hits worldwide. YouTube/TheSunnyCoastSkate

The Simpsons shake

The Simpson's do their version of the Harlem Shake

F1 shake

The Sauber F1 team does the Harlem Shake during pit practice. Courtesy saubermotorsport

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