Santa Claus must now abide by a strict code of conduct in order to preserve the holiday ideal. "We are trying to eradicate shoddy Santas," James Lovell of the Ministry of Fun agency tells Reuters. "Santa is a magical and cuddly man, not a fat, smelly slob," says Lovell, whose agency fills 500 Santa positions a year. "I even saw a Santa last year wearing trainers (sneakers). "

CareerBuilder. com's annual survey of missed workdays finds that 43 percent of employees say they called in sick with bogus excuses at least once during the last year; up from last year's 35 percent. The survey also shows some hiring managers are catching on, with 23 percent saying they'd fired an employee for missing work without a legitimate reason.

Santa Claus must now abide by a strict code of conduct in order to preserve the holiday ideal. "We are trying to eradicate shoddy Santas," James Lovell of the Ministry of Fun agency tells Reuters. "Santa is a magical and cuddly man, not a fat, smelly slob," says Lovell, whose agency fills 500 Santa positions a year. "I even saw a Santa last year wearing trainers (sneakers). "

Luxury car maker Mercedes loses a case in German court brought by an overweight man who says his heft caused multiple breakdowns in the car. The court ruled that Mercedes must release the insurance salesman from a car lease deal after a dispute over whether he was too heavy to drive the luxury vehicle, Bild newspaper reports Tuesday.