TD Ameritrade

Let's go over some of the items that will help shape the week that lies ahead on Wall Street: smartphones and software, discount brokers and airbeds, and would you like a side of fries with that?

There are mobile apps to help us with just about every chore, and investing is no exception. Whether you want to track a basic portfolio or delve into corporate reports and balance sheets, options are available.

There's no such thing as a summertime lull when earnings season is upon us. Next week will bring plenty of headlines -- among them box office receipts for the last Harry Potter film and quarterly results from Apple, Cintas, and Microsoft.

Mirror investing lets you link your investment account to someone else's: When they make a trade, you automatically trade too. It guarantees that the person guiding you has skin in the game, but is it really wise to put your investment decisions in the hands of a stranger?

Investing website Kapitall opened to the general public on Thursday, offering sleeker technology and easier tools to appeal to the so-called Facebook generation. The idea: To make investing more alluring. But while the site is attracting new users, will it be a winner?

What are the best brokerages for mobile investors? The industry advisory firm Corporate Insight surveyed the mobile trading features of 21 brokerages, looking at a variety of platforms and loads of other features. See what firms come out on top.

Canada's second-largest bank, TD's traditional way of banking has left it untainted by the scandal over subprime mortgage lending, CDOs, murky derivatives and the like. Its stock remains cheap, with a dividend yield of 3.5% as a kicker.

TD Ameritrade reported earnings below expectations, largely due to declining trade income and a low interest rate environment. The company recorded profits of 23 cents per share, down from 31 cents per share, a year earlier.

As the personal savings rate in the US has grown to 4.4% and continues to rise, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade and ING Direct are trying to entice investors to save a portion of that growing asset base with them.

Charles Schwab & Co. (SCHW) decided to take a stand and fight New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over how it marketed auction-rate securities. Many others have already settled, as TD Ameritrade did today. Citigroup (C), UBS (UBS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) settled last year. Auction rate...