BANKING/FINANCE

The Geneva Cos. in Costa Mesa has extended its prediction for good economic times.

The firm, which offers merger and acquisition services, predicts that the economic climate for 1989 will continue to be strong through the first nine months of the new year, before softening as the country moves toward a recession.

The firm has built proprietary databases and an econometric model that help it predict economic trends, said Richard M. Rodnick, the firm’s chairman.

Early this year, he estimated that the nation would be hit with a recession earlier in 1989--regardless of which candidate wins the presidential election.

Because mergers and acquisitions usually take about a year to complete, Geneva needs accurate forecasting to determine the likely selling prices of the companies it helps to merge, Rodnick said. That is why it developed its databases to help with its predictions.