Twitter combats abuse, harassmentNEW YORK — Twitter, long criticized as a hotbed for online harassment, is expanding ways to curb the amount of abuse users see and making it easier to report such conduct.Twitter said Tuesday that it is expanding a “mute” function that lets people mute accounts they don’t want to see tweets from. Now, users will be able to mute keywords, phrases and conversations they don’t want to get notifications about.The company is also making it easier to report hateful conduct, and said it has retrained its support teams about its policies and hateful conduct.

Target beats Wall Street expectationsMINNEAPOLIS — Target breezed past Wall Street expectations for the third quarter and with the crucial holiday season fast approaching, it upped its outlook for the year, and for comparable-stores sales as well.Shares surged more than 5 percent today before the opening bell.Target earned $608 million, or $1.06 per share, for the three months ended Oct. 29. That compares with earnings of $549 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.Excluding certain items, earnings were $1.04 per share. That’s well above the 83 cents per share that analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research called for.

Mazda recalls nearly 70K carsDETROIT — Mazda is recalling almost 70,000 RX-8 sports cars in the U.S. to fix possible fuel leaks that can cause fires. The recall covers RX-8s from the 2004 through 2008 model years.Mazda says the cars have fuel pump sealing rings that can crack when exposed to engine or exhaust heat. That can allow gasoline to escape, increasing the risk of a fire. Company documents filed with the government did not mention any fires or injuries.

Home Depot raises outlook for yearATLANTA — Home Depot, benefiting from falling unemployment, still-low mortgage rates and rising home prices, raised its outlook for the year on Tuesday as sales surged in the third quarter and customers spent more with each visit.The home improvement retailer extended its streak of strong earnings while some other retailers have struggled. But Home Depot has stood out, thanks in part to low mortgage rates that have led to a warming housing market and an increase in refinancing.

Lowe’s cuts outlook againMOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s was beset by hefty charges and meager traffic in its stores for most of the third quarter, and its profit suffered for it.Lowe’s fell drastically short of Wall Street expectations and cut its annual outlook, again.Shares slumped almost 5 percent before the opening bell today.For the three months ended Oct. 28, Lowe’s earned $379 million, or 43 cents per share. A year ago the Mooresville, N.C., company earned $736 million, or 80 cents per share.Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected 96 cents per share.