NEW YORK • Retailers marched out a series of cheerless results Tuesday for their most important season of the year, the fourth quarter, when consumers seem to have put off buying almost anything they had a choice about.

To survive, companies are laying off workers, renewing promotions of their low prices and closing stores and whole divisions to deal with record-low consumer confidence and projections of another year of slow sales.

Consumers are likely to limit their spending for a long time, said Bellevue, Wash.-based retail analyst Patricia Edwards, and “retailers who will be successful are those who plan appropriately for that.”

Details of Tuesday’s earnings reports:

Target Corp: Fourth-quarter profit slumped 41 percent in part because Target marked down merchandise during the weak holiday season.

Rising delinquencies in Target’s credit card business – half of which JPMorgan bought last May – also hurt results. Target is responding by expanding its food offerings and bolstering its private-label lines.

It said in January that it will cut 9 percent of its headquarters staff, close a distribution center and reduce new-store openings.

Macy’s Inc.: Fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 59 percent.

The Cincinnati-based retailer announced this month that it will cut 7,000 jobs, almost 4 percent of its work force.

It will also cut capital spending, reduce its contributions to its employees’ retirement funds and slash its dividend to preserve cash.

Home Depot Inc.: Lost $54 million in the fourth quarter mainly due to its plan to shut its four smaller home-improvement chains. The Atlanta-based retailer has said it is cutting 7,000 jobs, or about 2 percent of its work force.

It is trying to improve customer service and cut inventory as home sales decline and customers spend less on repairs and remodeling.

Office Depot Inc.: Hefty $1.54 billion loss in the fourth quarter, hurt by charges for a restructuring, including facility closing and job cuts, as well as a 15 percent drop in sales.

Office Depot said it will close 118 stores during the year and open fewer new stores.

RadioShack Corp.: Fourth-quarter profit fell 39 percent, hurt by poor sales of electronics such as GPS navigation systems, cameras and toys.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based company plans to focus on trimming inventory and will introduce new private brands.

LOOKING AHEAD

As Federal Reserve Chairman told Congress on Tuesday that the economy is suffering “a severe contraction,” a report showed consumer confidence tumbling.

Confidence index

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index, which was down slightly in January, plummeted more than 12 points in February to 25. A year ago, the consumer confidence reading stood at 76.4. Signs of a further collapse in consumer confidence is bad news for stores, whose success hinges on them being in the mood to spend.

Hint of hope

The Fed’s Bernanke said the economy is likely to keep shrinking in the first six months of this year after posting its worst slide in a quarter-century at the end of 2008. But he planted a glimmer of hope that the recession might end this year if the government manages to prop up the shaky banking system and Wall Street rallies. Fed policymakers think a full recovery is likely to take more than two or three years, Bernanke said.

The Associated Press

Cynthia Barram reacts after realizing she will have her bus route cut after the city council voted for a budget cut. Barram is a student at UCCS and was using public transportation to go to school. Photo by The Gazette, Bryan Oller