Last week, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reported stellar quarterly results. Lots more third quarter reports from the big banks are due this week.

However, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters anticipate year-over-year earnings declines from Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT), M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB), Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS), PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC), State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), US Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).

Other insurers' loss is Chubb Corp.'s (NYSE: CB) gain. Back in May, the case was made that given competitors' woes, and Chubb's demonstrated business model, superior personal lines, and diverse business mix, CB deserved a higher multiple than its May P/E of 9.

Well, the market finally took note of CB, boosting shares this summer, hence I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for Chubb, first recommended on May 29, 2009 at a price of $39.65. If you bought CB then, you're up about 23%.

The Dow's sell-off from 14,000 and the accompanying investor reluctance to deploy capital has created bargains, and Chubb is one.

In general, analysts expect Chubb's (NYSE: CB) financial strength and resultant market share gains from weaker insurers exiting business lines to offset a likely incremental decline in FY2009 revenue.

The Dow Jones is down around 300 points again (Update: closed down 450) so it's time to revisit my stable stock picks to see how they are holding up. Each of my five picks is beating the market and all of them are up despite crushing news in the financial sector every day since my last report.

The prediction business is highly speculative, but I gave it a try anyway, searching for stocks that would hold their value. This update is a spot-check of my earlier post, Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times. The closing prices are from yesterday but these companies are doing well in today's down market too as the government steps in again and bails out AIG with $85 billion.

The standard for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed yesterday at 1,213.59, down 5.47%. The percentage gains for the stable stocks do not include dividends. They are up 4% for a 9.47% advantage. The volatility in the market today may alter some of the data points so expect an after market update. Update: the following five stocks remain ahead of the market but they did turn down in the last hour.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It finished at $69.80 -- up 8.48% -- and is trading up this morning. JNJ was featured in Barron's this week as the most respected from the top 100 companies in the world. Final Update: down $-0.29 to $69.51

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $45.80 and paid a 1% dividend yield. It finished at $45.96 -- no change -- and is trading slightly down this morning. Teva is the largest generic drug company in the world and just got bigger throught the acquisition of Barr Pharmaceuticals. Final Update: down $-1.25 to $44.11

Updating the story with the final numbers heading into the week end. The market looked sad again today, so I thought I would spot-check Serious Money: Five stable stocks for troubled times, to see if my picks, (suggested watchlist considerations) were holding up...so far so good, sort of...

The standard for comparison will be the Standard & Poors 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The following are the five stocks with closing prices from July 1.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) closed at $64.34 and pays a 2.89% dividend yield. (NOW $66.53 -- up 3.4%) finished at $66.26 -- up 2.98%.

2) Teva Pharmaceuticals ADR (NASDAQ: TEVA) closed at $45.80 and pays a 1% dividend yield.( NOW 42.58 -- down 7%) finished at $41.78 -- down 8.78%.

3) Chubb Corp (NYSE: CB) closed at $49.01 and pays a 2.64% dividend yield. (NOW $47.51 -- down 3%) finished at $47.56 -- down 2.96%.