Del Monte Foods Co. may sell the StarKist tuna business acquired a few years ago from Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. The announcement follows several months of speculation, although the San Francisco company said its board has not approved a transaction and the business might not be sold. Del Monte earlier sold soup and baby food lines acquired in the Heinz deal, including a North Side plant, but continues to develop pet food lines picked up then. The company this week said it would move 100 marketing jobs out of a 500-employee regional headquarters on the North Shore.

Pennsylvania taxpayers took to the computers in record numbers in filing their state personal income tax returns. More than 3.2 million taxpayers, or about 55 percent of all state taxpayers, filed tax returns electronically, according to the state Department of Revenue. The department also said 619,000 taxpayers chose to receive their refunds through direct deposit and that about 24,300 paid taxes by credit card.

Macy's stores Downtown and in South Hills Village are the likely sites for FAO Schwarz toy stores within a store, a Macy's spokesman said yesterday. Both companies announced yesterday that FAO Schwarz would open 685 stores in Macy's department stores over the next two years. The Macy's spokesman said the toy stores would be opened in Macy's stores that have children's departments. He said the list of stores that will have the toy stores could be announced in the fall. FAO Schwarz gave its first Macy's store-within-a-store a trial run in Chicago late last year.

The United Steelworkers union yesterday said an Indian steelmaker's agreement to purchase Esmark Inc. for about $669 million violated the union contract and asked Esmark to reject the deal. The USW said the proposed deal between Esmark and Essar Steel Holdings Ltd. was in violation of the contract's right to bid clause because Esmark failed to give the union proper notice and "an opportunity to bring forward an alternative proposal." The union also said under the terms of the successorship clause, the acquisition cannot occur until Essar and the union reach a labor accord.

Volkswagen AG's Bentley luxury division is recalling 13,420 Continental cars in the United States to replace a fuel filter that may corrode and leak, creating a fire hazard. The recall affects 2004 to 2008 model-year GT, GT Speed, GTC and Flying Spur versions of the Continental, according to a letter posted by Bentley on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Web site. Road salt can corrode the outer surface of the fuel filter, the automaker said. Bentley models start at about $170,000.

General Electric Co. said it planned to sell or spin off the appliance business that for a century has put refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers in U.S. homes.