Step Up to New 'Ledge' at Sears Tower

Insurance company gets naming rights

(NEWSER) - An insurance company no one's ever heard of is suddenly a big name in Chicago. Starting today, the Sears Tower—the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere—becomes Willis Tower, after Willis Group Holdings, the Sun-Times reports. Chicagoans grumbling about the name change, which Willis earned by leasing just three of the building's 110 floors, should stop complaining, the company's chairman says. Sears was doing nothing for the city, he notes, while Willis brought 500 new jobs to town during a recession, and coughed up $100,000 for the city's 2016 Olympic effort. More»

Iconic skyscraper gets rebranded with new lease

(NEWSER) - Sears Tower is to be rechristened Willis Tower in accordance with a new lease signed by insurance firm Willis Group Holdings, the Chicago Tribune reports. The company plans to move some 500 associates into multiple floors. It says its $14.50-per-square-foot move means big real-estate savings, and the name change came free with the lease. More»

If it leaves the eurozone, it'll be a real bargain, experts say

(NEWSER) - These days you probably think of Greece as the place threatening to set the euro on fire. It's easy to forget that it's also a pretty beautiful tourist destination, loaded with ancient ruins and sunny beaches—and soon, NPR points out, it could be a pretty cheap destination, too. If Greece leaves the euro, the value of its currency would plummet between 30% and 50%, analysts predict. More»

Dean Heller, Shelley Berkley fight for the government's right to party

(NEWSER) - No one is actually talking about outlawing government travel to Las Vegas or Reno in the wake of the GSA scandal, but a pair of Nevada lawmakers want to ban such a banning, just in case. Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Shelley Berkley are putting forward bills in their respective chambers making it illegal to ban travel to any particular US city, USA Today reports. More»

Panama, Finland, and Myanmar top the list

(NEWSER) - If you like cool design, upscale safaris, or a forbidden communist island, the New York Times can recommend 45 locales to visit in 2012. Among them:

• Panama. See the world-famous canal before its expansion, then stay for Panama City's economic boom and Frank Gehry's first design in Latin America—a natural history museum called BioMuseo.