Eight trends will fuel '08 growth

So what will 2008 bring? More turbulent markets, more painful adjustments and boundless opportunity for those who adapt the fastest. Here are some of the trends that will buffet your business in 2008. - Expect slower growth and more financial shocks from the U.S. and its subprime real estate crisis. Canadian cities, buoyed by continuing strong immigration levels, should fare better than their U.S. counterparts, but the jittery financial markets will dampen growth across the board. The good news: Lower interest rates will favour aggressive companies investing in new opportunities. - More business owners will take advantage of Web-marketing tools that enable them to target niche markets more efficiently than ever. Pay-per-click ad services such as Google's AdSense and Yahoo's Search Marketing let you cut the clutter and reach only people who are actively looking for products like yours -- and you pay only when they click to your site. Similarly, search-engine optimization (covered in this column on Dec. 3) helps qualified prospects find your site faster.