Wendy’s is about to unseat Burger King in the burger chain wars, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Sales at Wendy’s U.S. restaurants — both franchised and company-owned — are on track to be $8.42 billion or $53 million higher than Burger King’s this year, the article said.

Burger King has long been the burger-chain industry’s number-two in terms of sales after sector leader McDonald’s. The change at the number-two spot will represent the first reordering of the industry-leading trio since Wendy’s was founded in 1969, the Journal said.

Protesters are occupying Wall Street and points beyond, and many investors may be looking sadly at their most recent statements after a couple of erratic months in the markets.

But a new survey finds that most Wall Street professionals are still expecting their bonuses to be the same or higher than last year.

The survey of nearly 1,100 Wall Street professionals, conducted in the last few weeks by the jobs website eFinancial Careers, found that about six in 10 financial services professionals expect their bonus will be the same or higher than last year.

Senate Republicans sought Tuesday to force an immediate vote on President Obama’s jobs plan in a ploy reacting to the President’s nationwide barnstorm to push for a vote “right away” on the measure.

Holding a copy of the President’s plan on the Senate floor this afternoon, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell moved to vote this week on the bill that he dubbed “Stimulus II.” McConnell said he was responding to calls from the White House, including the president today, to hold a vote now.

“I think he’s entitled to a vote. It won’t surprise anyone to know I don’t think it’s a good approach, a way that’s unlikely to create jobs, but he’s asked for a vote and I think we ought to accommodate the president of the United States on a matter that he has been speaking about frequently over the last few weeks and give him his vote,” McConnell said.

NEW YORK — Stocks posted their biggest jump in nearly two weeks on Tuesday. Investors picked up cheaply priced stocks after fears that the U.S. would slip into a recession pounded the market over the last month.

The Dow jumped 322 points, its best day since Aug. 11, when it gained 423. The Dow dipped about 60 points shortly after an earthquake hit the East Coast at 1:51 p.m., but recovered within 20 minutes and soared even higher in the afternoon.

Wall Street ended one of its most dizzying, volatile weeks in history on a relatively quiet note Friday, with the Dow climbing 126 points to post its second gain in a row.

But Friday’s action paled in comparison to the wild 4-5% swings investors were faced with earlier this week. On Monday, the Dow plunged 635 points, only to reverse course and jump 420 points the following day. On Wednesday, the Dow sank 520 points followed the next day by a 420-point recovery.

“It’s the craziest week I’ve ever seen. Ever.” said Ted Weisberg of Seaport Securities who has been trading at the New York Stock Exchange for 43 years.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The crisis over raising the debt ceiling may have been manufactured by politicians, as many on Wall Street charge, but its effect on consumers and the broader economy is likely to prove very real.

Fear that Congress may not raise the government’s $14.3 trillion legal borrowing limit by August 2, inviting a credit rating downgrade or default, has already made it more costly for banks and companies to borrow short-term money.

If that persists, consumers and small businesses may also find it harder to access credit. Those who can get loans will likely pay more for them. Companies, meanwhile, are hardly likely to ramp up hiring if funding costs are on the rise.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — A dismal jobs report defied Wall Street’s expectations Friday.

But considering the beating consumers have taken recently, why was anyone surprised?

The American consumer is now feeling the cost of $4 gas and higher food prices, seeing their wages rise very little and still being held back by declining home values, which recently fell to their lowest level in nine years.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks finished at their highest levels in three years Tuesday afternoon, as investors cheered another batch of earnings results and a better-than-expected report on consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 115 points, or 0.9%, the S&P 500 (SPX) rose 12 points, or 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) added 22 points, or 0.8%. Both the Dow and the S&P climbed to their highest levels since June 2008, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at its highest mark since October 2007.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks advanced for a third straight session Thursday, with the Dow closing at almost a 3-year high following a slew of strong earnings.

But disappointing readings on regional manufacturing and the labor market kept a lid on the gains, reminding investors that the economy is still fragile.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — It’s been a volatile first quarter, but that’s not deterring Wall Street experts, who expect stocks to continue trending higher for the remainder of the year.

Most market strategists are calling for the benchmark S&P 500 (SPX) index to rise an average of 4% over the next three quarters to end 2011 near 1,400, according to an exclusive CNNMoney survey. That would leave the market up about 11% for the year.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks closed broadly higher Tuesday, led by a strong performance in the financial sector.

Easing oil prices lent further support. Crude prices retreated following reports that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is working to step down and exit the country safely.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Perhaps more iconic U.S. companies should consider government-sponsored bankruptcies.

Shares of General Motors (GM) are up about 15% since the new GM went public in mid-November. By way of comparison, the S&P 500 and top rival Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) are both up about 8%.