Over the last few months, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have shown that they are able to survive in tough conditions, at least compared with most other stocks. However, there have been signs of weakness for REITs lately and this is likely to continue.

With recession fears still looming, real estate operators are facing yet another difficult situation brought on by rising unemployment, which could result in lower office and retail space demand. And rising inflation will come with higher interest rates, leading to higher borrowing expenses for REITs. Considering these circumstances, the outlook for REITs is not all that promising.

With all these concerns and obstacles tied to the market and the industry, you may think it wise to stay away from real estate, at least until we see an improvement in consumer spending and the banking sector. Kiplinger suggests that we reconsider these thoughts, and actually suggests some names to invest in that could offer us the advantages we are all looking for.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Business Objects, Cognos and Cooper Companies were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) to Hold from Buy on valuation, as they believe shares reflect prospects for growth.
  
• Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS following the acquisition by SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, as the firm finds the acquisition price fair and does not expect a counter-bid. Soleil believes the SAP offer is reflected in the stock price, and downgraded Business Objects to Hold from Buy.
  
• Roth Capital downgraded shares of Cognos (NASDAQ: COGN) to Hold from Buy based on recent share appreciation as shares capture a vast majority of a potential takeover bid; Goldman downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy and Jefferies downgraded shares to Hold from Buy on valuation.
  
• JP Morgan lowered shares of Cooper Companies (NYSE: COO) to Underweight from Neutral. The firm believes Street estimates are too high given a negative mix shift in the company's contact lens business, which could lead to a FY08 EPS shortfall.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman downgraded JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ: RDEN) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at SunTrust.
  
• UBS downgraded Healthcare REITs to Market Weight from Overweight. UBS downgraded Health Care REIT (NYSE: HCN) and Ventas (NYSE: VTR) to Neutral from Buy and Omega Healthcare (NYSE: OHI) to Sell from Neutral.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: REITs, Business Objects, Allstate Corp and P&C Insurance were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Deutsche Bank downgraded REITs AvalonBay (NYSE: AVB), Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP), Health Care REIT (NYSE: HCN), Kimco (NYSE: KIM) and Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) to Hold from Buy on valuation following the recent share appreciation.
  
• Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird following its acquisition by SAP AG (NYSE: SAP).
  
• Wachovia downgraded Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) to Market Perform from Outperform and P&C Insurance (NYSE: PGR) citing deteriorating fundamentals in personal lines.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• UBS downgraded BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• JP Morgan downgraded Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) to Neutral from Outperform.
  
• Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America.
  
• Friedman Billings downgraded technology stocks, lowering ASE Test Limited (NASDAQ: ASTSF), ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML), KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ: KLAC) and Rudolph Technologies (NASDAQ: RTEC) to Market Perform from Outperform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Advanced Micro Devices, Hancock Holding, Town Sports and Gerdau SA were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Nollenberger started shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) with a Buy rating and $18 target. The firm believes the company's issues are widely known and already baked into the valuation and feels the Barcelona ramp and performance are likely ahead of expectations and demand for the latest family of ATI graphics is solid.
• B. Riley initiated shares of Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ: HBHC) with a Buy rating of $43 target as the firm believes a higher premium is warranted given the company's superior growth prospects and conservative management profile.
• Town Sports International Holdings (NASDAQ: CLUB) was initiated with a Sector Outperformer and a $23 target at CIBC. The firm expects shares to be driven by improving fundamentals.
• Citigroup believes Gerdau SA's (NYSE: GGB) acquisition of Chaparral was expensive and will provide near-term headwinds for the stock, starting shares off with a Hold rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS initiated shares of Baker Hughes Incororated (NYSE: BHI), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) with Buy ratings and targets of $102, $52 and $121, respectively.
• BMO initiated shares of Health Care Reit (NYSE: HCN) with a Market Perform rating.
  
• Lazard initiated shares of Micron Technology (NYSE: MU), SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) and Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ: SIMO) with Buy ratings and targets of $14, $63 and $29.