United Technologies goes bargain hunting and comes up with a good deal.

A roundup of business and financial stories breaking before the opening bell on Wall Street.

Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday’s session are Alliant Techsystems, Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Applied Materials, Computer Sciences, Greenbrier, Kohl’s, Nash Finch, 3Com, Urban Outfitters, and Wal-Mart.

United Technologies Corp. said Thursday it is going to buy the security business of General Electric Co. for $1.8 billion, strengthening is North America position and expanding its product portfolio.

The White House says President Barack Obama would approve the Defense Department’s $680 billion budget for fiscal 2010, which includes funding to increase military personnel and support the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Global Deployment to Over 100,000 Employees Completed in Less Than 7 Weeks