UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-Q
QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY
Investment Company Act file number 811-21286
Name of Fund: BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. (PSY)
Fund Address: 100 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19809
Name and address of agent for service: Donald C. Burke, Chief Executive
Officer, BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc., 800 Scudders
Mill Road, Plainsboro, NJ 08536. Mailing address: P.O. Box 9011,
Princeton, NJ 08543-9011
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (800) 882-0052, Option 4
Date of fiscal year end: 10/31/2008
Date of reporting period: 11/01/2007 - 01/31/2008
Item 1 - Schedule of Investments
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2008 (Unaudited) (in U.S. dollars)
Face
Industry Amount Capital Trusts Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Markets - 2.9% $ 6,400,000 Lehman Brothers Holdings Capital Trust V, 5.911% (d)(f) $ 5,029,907
5,975,000 State Street Capital Trust III, 8.25% (d)(f) 6,002,116
13,535,000 State Street Capital Trust IV, 5.991% due 6/01/2067 (d) 11,147,128
-------------
22,179,151
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Banks - 16.0% 12,035,000 ABN AMRO North America Holding Preferred Capital Repackaging Trust I,
6.523% (d)(f)(g) 12,515,281
2,811,000 Abbey National Capital Trust I, 8.963% (a)(d)(f) 3,321,829
18,350,000 BB&T Capital Trust IV, 6.82% due 6/12/2077 (d) 17,179,325
2,000,000 Bank One Capital III, 8.75% due 9/01/2030 2,257,536
6,115,000 Barclays Bank Plc, 5.926% (d)(f)(g) 5,691,701
3,875,000 Dresdner Funding Trust I, 8.151% due 6/30/2031 (g) 3,874,105
3,630,000 First Empire Capital Trust II, 8.277% due 6/01/2027 3,790,519
2,000,000 HSBC America Capital Trust I, 7.808% due 12/15/2026 (g) 2,078,080
15,835,000 HSBC Capital Funding LP/Jersey Channel Islands, 10.176% (d)(f)(g) 20,392,772
7,300,000 HSBC Finance Capital Trust IX, 5.911% due 11/30/2035 (d) 6,790,891
12,275,000 Hubco Capital Trust II Series B, 7.65% due 6/15/2028 12,800,051
3,850,000 Huntington Capital III, 6.65% due 5/15/2037 (d) 3,202,107
2,000,000 Lloyds TSB Bank Plc, 6.90% (f) 1,955,000
18,470,000 Nationsbank Capital Trust III, 4.808% due 1/15/2027 (d) 16,744,773
3,930,000 Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, 7.648% (d)(f) 4,081,828
4,175,000 SunTrust Preferred Capital I, 5.853% (d)(f) 3,553,050
-------------
120,228,848
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Finance - 2.0% 13,670,000 Capital One Capital III, 7.686% due 8/15/2036 10,346,960
4,630,000 MBNA Capital A, 8.278% due 12/01/2026 4,819,089
-------------
15,166,049
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Financial 15,000,000 AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, 8.393% due 12/15/2016 (d) 15,924,120
Services - 4.2% 9,000,000 Farm Credit Bank of Texas Series 1, 7.561% (d)(f) 9,471,600
8,375,000 JPM Chase Capital XXI, 4.065% due 5/15/2077 (d) 6,278,185
-------------
31,673,905
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Utilities - 0.7% 5,000,000 SWEPCO Capital I, 5.25% due 10/01/2043 (d) 5,054,775
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insurance - 10.0% 12,175,000 AON Corp., 8.205% due 1/01/2027 12,472,192
11,300,000 Ace Capital Trust II, 9.70% due 4/01/2030 13,819,222
15,000,000 Farmers Exchange Capital, 7.05% due 7/15/2028 (g) 14,171,640
10,000,000 GE Global Insurance Holding Corp., 7.75% due 6/15/2030 11,421,550
3,000,000 Genworth Financial, Inc., 6.15% due 11/15/2066 (d) 2,648,064
6,066,000 ING Capital Funding Trust III, 8.439% (d)(f) 6,539,997
3,605,000 Oil Casualty Insurance Ltd., 8% due 9/15/2034 (g) 3,361,324
6,325,000 Principal Life Insurance Co., 8% due 3/01/2044 (Surplus Notes) (g) 7,032,780
3,750,000 Zenith National Insurance Capital Trust I, 8.55% due 8/01/2028 (g) 3,759,375
-------------
75,226,144
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multi-Utilities - 1.4% 10,000,000 Dominion Resources Capital Trust I, 7.83% due 12/01/2027 10,493,140
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Road & Rail - 0.5% 3,750,000 BNSF Funding Trust I, 6.613% due 12/15/2055 (d) 3,426,502
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thrifts & Mortgage 1,000,000 Astoria Capital Trust I, 9.75% due 11/01/2029 (g) 1,012,500
Finance - 0.6% 3,875,000 Webster Capital Trust IV, 7.65% due 6/15/2037 (d) 3,355,130
-------------
4,367,630
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Capital Trusts (Cost - $303,792,260) - 38.3% 287,816,144
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shares
Held Preferred Stocks
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Markets - 0.2% 72,200 Deutsche Bank Contingent Capital Trust II, 6.55% 1,766,012
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Banks - 11.2% 1,140,000 Barclays Bank Plc, 6.278% (d) 985,052
4,650 First Tennessee Bank NA, 3.90% (d)(g) 3,470,063
8,000,000 ICICI Bank Ltd., 7.25% (d)(e)(f)(g) 7,083,648
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2008 (Unaudited) (in U.S. dollars)
Shares
Industry Held Preferred Stocks Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
166,800 Provident Financial Group, Inc., 7.75% $ 4,300,321
23,000 SG Preferred Capital II, 6.302% (d) 23,661,250
599,000 Santander Finance Preferred SA Unipersonal, 6.50% 13,365,187
250,000 Santander Finance Preferred SA Unipersonal, 6.80% 5,828,125
48,000 Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. Series C, 7.30% (c) 1,151,520
915,000 Wachovia Corp. Series J, 8% 24,110,574
-------------
83,955,740
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Financial 310,000 Bank of America Corp., 6.625% 7,545,400
Services - 8.7% 10,000 Bank of America Corp. Series L, 7.25% (b) 11,220,000
485,000 Citigroup, Inc. Series AA, 8.125% 12,716,700
295,000 Citigroup, Inc. Series T, 6.50% (b) 15,944,750
152,000 Cobank ACB, 7% (g) 6,568,680
15,525,000 JPMorgan Chase Capital XXI Series U, 4.062% due 2/02/2037 (d) 11,539,903
-------------
65,535,433
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Utilities - 1.9% 14,000 Alabama Power Co., 5.83% 357,280
145,000 Alabama Power Co., 6.50% 3,588,750
114,400 Entergy Arkansas, Inc., 6.45% 2,870,731
49,850 Entergy Louisiana LLC, 6.95% 5,386,741
80,000 Interstate Power & Light Co. Series B, 8.375% 2,380,000
-------------
14,583,502
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insurance - 15.2% 400,000 ACE Ltd. Series C, 7.80% 10,008,000
16,340,000 AXA SA, 6.379% (d)(f)(g) 13,766,777
194,000 Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., 7.401% (d) 4,413,500
140,000 Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. Series A, 7.25% 3,472,000
36,000 Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. Series B, 7.50% (d) 3,844,127
139,200 Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. Series A, 7.75% 3,443,808
6,930,000 Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd., 6.40%
due 12/15/2066 (d)(g) 5,167,008
19,875,000 Metlife, Inc., 6.40% due 12/15/2066 17,836,540
793,000 Metlife, Inc. Series B, 6.50% 19,460,220
5,700,000 PartnerRe Finance II, 6.44% due 12/01/2066 (d) 5,132,052
95,000 Prudential Plc, 6.50% 2,322,750
660,000 RenaissanceRe Holding Ltd. Series D, 6.60% 14,929,200
9,800 Zurich RegCaPS Funding Trust, 6.58% (d)(g) 9,940,875
-------------
113,736,857
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multi-Utilities - 0.5% 140,000 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Series A, 6% 3,526,028
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thrifts & Mortgage 860,000 Fannie Mae, 8.25% 22,721,200
Finance - 11.8% 264,650 Fannie Mae Series L, 5.125% 10,805,659
392,148 Fannie Mae Series O, 7% (d) 19,435,835
120,000 Freddie Mac Series Q, 3.85% (d) 4,710,000
225,000 Freddie Mac Series U, 5.90% 5,393,250
325,000 Freddie Mac Series V, 5.57% 6,815,250
216,600 Freddie Mac Series Y, 6.55% 5,293,704
360,000 Freddie Mac Series Z, 8.375% 9,666,000
40 Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp. Series D, 8.88% (d) 4,020,000
-------------
88,860,898
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wireless Telecommunication 2,423 Centaur Funding Corp., 9.08% (g) 2,669,086
Services - 0.4%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Preferred Stocks (Cost - $386,534,867) - 49.9% 374,633,556
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real Estate Investment Trusts
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Real Estate Investment 400,000 Developers Diversified Realty Corp., 8% 9,840,000
Trusts (REITs) - 4.3% 2,390 First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., 6.236% (d) 2,472,903
4,000 Firstar Realty LLC, 8.875% (g) 3,835,000
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2008 (Unaudited) (in U.S. dollars)
Shares
Industry Held Real Estate Investment Trusts Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
50,000 HCP, Inc. Series F, 7.10% $ 1,135,000
172,800 Health Care REIT, Inc. Series F, 7.625% 4,190,400
50,000 Kimco Realty Corp. Series F, 6.65% 1,150,500
40,000 PS Business Parks, Inc. Series K, 7.95% 970,000
160,000 Public Storage, Inc. Series I, 7.25% 3,889,600
3,857 Sovereign Real Estate Investment Corp., 12% (g) 4,975,530
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Real Estate Investment Trusts (Cost - $34,710,510) - 4.3% 32,458,933
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Face
Amount Trust Preferreds
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Banks - 0.4% $ 3,725,000 KeyCorp Capital IX, 6.75% 3,332,862
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Communications 2,000,000 Corporate-Backed Trust Certificates, 8.375% due 11/15/2028 1,980,246
Equipment - 0.3%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consumer Finance - 2.1% 16,702,000 Capital One Capital II, 7.50% due 6/15/2066 15,728,237
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Financial 7,047,500 Citigroup Capital XVII, 6.35% due 3/15/2067 6,396,243
Services - 0.8%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Utilities - 1.4% 1,250,000 Georgia Power Co. Series O, 1.475% due 4/15/2033 1,231,556
1,250,000 HECO Capital Trust III, 6.50% due 3/18/2034 1,182,589
1,250,000 National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp., 6.75%
due 2/15/2043 1,229,928
5,835,000 PPL Energy Supply LLC, 7% due 7/15/2046 5,940,794
950,000 Virginia Power Capital Trust II, 1.844% due 7/30/2042 958,734
-------------
10,543,601
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gas Utilities - 0.8% 5,750,000 Southwest Gas Capital II, 7.70% due 9/15/2043 5,747,611
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insurance - 2.7% 11,000,000 ABN AMRO North America Capital Funding Trust II, 5.046% (d)(f)(g) 7,965,374
5,000,000 Lincoln National Capital VI Series F, 6.75% due 9/11/2052 4,870,661
7,375,000 W.R. Berkley Capital Trust II, 6.75% due 7/26/2045 7,074,559
-------------
19,910,594
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Media - 2.9% 23,375,000 Comcast Corp., 6.625% due 5/15/2056 21,695,289
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thrifts & Mortgage 6,000,000 Dime Community Capital I, 7% due 4/14/2034 5,220,000
Finance - 0.7%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Trust Preferreds (Cost - $98,056,231) - 12.1% 90,554,683
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Preferred Securities (Cost - $823,093,868) - 104.6% 785,463,316
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corporate Bonds
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building Products - 0.5% 3,915,000 C8 Capital SPV Ltd., 6.64% (d)(f)(g) 3,540,139
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Markets - 3.8% 7,600,000 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., 7.518% due 6/01/2066 (d) 7,475,694
3,750,000 The Bear Stearns Cos., Inc., 6.40% due 10/02/2017 3,559,864
9,045,000 Credit Suisse Guernsey Ltd., 5.86% (d)(f) 8,299,981
1,310,000 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., 6.690% due 9/15/2022 (d) 1,258,844
7,800,000 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., 6.875% due 7/17/2037 7,589,135
-------------
28,183,518
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Banks - 21.0% 28,025,000 BNP Paribas, 7.195% (d)(f)(g)(h) 27,006,992
8,065,000 Bank of Ireland Capital Funding II, LP, 5.571% (d)(f)(g) 6,994,984
8,575,000 Bank of Ireland Capital Funding III, LP, 6.107% (d)(f)(g) 7,384,987
5,250,000 Barclays Bank Plc, 7.434% (d)(f)(g) 5,491,316
31,800,000 Credit Agricole SA, 6.637% (d)(f)(g) 28,921,305
5,000,000 HBOS Plc, 6.657% (d)(f)(g) 4,077,115
16,075,000 Resona Preferred Global Securities Ltd., 7.191% (d)(f)(g) 15,946,496
5,575,000 Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, 6.99% (d)(f)(g) 5,611,493
4,800,000 Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, 9.118% (f) 5,199,475
7,500,000 Royal Bank of Scotland Plc Series MTN, 7.64% (d)(f) 7,681,560
25,250,000 Societe Generale, 5.922% (d)(f)(g) 23,292,670
13,550,000 Standard Chartered Bank, 7.014% (d)(f)(g) 12,844,424
8,500,000 Woori Bank, 6.208% due 5/02/2067 (d)(g) 7,303,905
-------------
157,756,722
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2008 (Unaudited) (in U.S. dollars)
Face
Industry Amount Corporate Bonds Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diversified Financial 26,700,000 Bank of America Corp. Series K, 8% (d)(f) $ 27,734,625
Services - 8.2% 11,600,000 Citigroup, Inc., 8.30% due 12/21/2077 (d) 12,505,322
23,000,000 JPMorgan Chase Capital XXV, 6.80% due 10/01/2037 21,736,840
-------------
61,976,787
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Utilities - 3.4% 792,000 Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, 5.25% due 1/15/2018 805,106
16,575,000 Duke Energy Field Services LLC, 8.125% due 8/16/2030 19,296,714
5,925,000 PPL Capital Funding, 6.70% due 3/30/2067 (d) 5,454,016
385,000 Southern California Edison Co. Series 08-A, 5.95% due 2/01/2038 384,889
-------------
25,940,725
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gas Utilities - 1.9% 14,400,000 Southern Union Co., 7.20% due 11/01/2066 (d) 14,164,243
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Insurance - 23.8% 12,775,000 The Allstate Corp., 6.50% due 5/15/2057 (d) 11,641,679
10,450,000 The Allstate Corp. Series B, 6.125% due 5/15/2067 (d) 10,167,568
12,395,000 American International Group, Inc., 6.25% due 3/15/2087 10,829,400
17,700,000 Chubb Corp., 6.375% due 3/29/2067 (d) 17,443,881
14,280,000 Everest Reinsurance Holdings, Inc., 6.60% due 5/01/2067 (d) 12,613,810
7,500,000 Great West Life & Annuity Insurance Co., 7.153% due 5/16/2046 (d)(g) 7,491,000
10,150,000 Liberty Mutual Group, Inc., 7% due 3/15/2037 (d)(g) 8,972,093
12,000,000 Lincoln National Corp., 7% due 5/17/2066 (d) 11,934,372
5,025,000 Lincoln National Corp., 6.05% due 4/20/2067 (d) 4,692,692
9,675,000 Nationwide Life Global Funding I, 6.75% due 5/15/2067 8,169,841
5,000,000 Oil Insurance Ltd., 7.558% (d)(f)(g) 5,049,650
11,650,000 Progressive Corp., 6.70% due 6/15/2037 (d) 11,077,636
8,525,000 QBE Capital Funding II LP, 6.797% (d)(f)(g) 8,027,234
3,000,000 Reinsurance Group of America, 6.75% due 12/15/2065 (d) 2,753,421
585,495 Structured Asset Repackaged Trust Series 2004-1, 5.417% due 4/21/2011 579,640
8,875,000 Swiss Re Capital I LP, 6.854% (d)(f)(g) 8,585,329
22,850,000 The Travelers Cos., Inc., 6.25% due 3/15/2067 (d) 21,728,271
1,300,000 ZFS Finance (USA) Trust IV, 5.875% due 5/09/2032 (d)(g) 1,211,002
17,110,000 ZFS Finance (USA) Trust V, 6.50% due 5/09/2067 (d)(g) 15,621,772
-------------
178,590,291
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Multi-Utilities - 1.3% 8,400,000 Dominion Resources, Inc., 7.50% due 6/30/2066 (d) 8,029,342
1,825,000 Puget Sound Energy, Inc. Series A, 6.974% due 6/01/2067 (d) 1,704,498
-------------
9,733,840
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oil, Gas & 4,225,000 Enterprise Products Operating LP, 8.375% due 8/01/2066 (d) 4,222,140
Consumable Fuels - 1.6% 8,300,000 TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., 6.35% due 5/15/2067 (d) 7,728,620
-------------
11,950,760
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thrifts & Mortgage 4,100,000 Washington Mutual Preferred Funding Delaware, 6.534% (d)(f)(g) 2,776,397
Finance - 0.4%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Corporate Bonds (Cost - $522,015,774) - 65.9% 494,613,422
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government & Agency Obligations
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5,000,000 U.S. Treasury Notes, 4.75% due 2/15/2037 5,326,560
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Government & Agency Obligations (Cost - $5,323,438) - 0.7% 5,326,560
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2008 (Unaudited) (in U.S. dollars)
Value
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Investments (Cost - $1,350,433,080*) - 171.2% $1,285,403,298
Other Assets Less Liabilities - 2.2% 16,479,554
Preferred Stock, at Redemption Value - (73.4%) (550,853,968)
--------------
Net Assets Applicable to Common Stock - 100.0% $ 751,028,884
==============
* The cost and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments as of
January 31, 2008, as computed for federal income tax purposes, were as
follows:
Aggregate cost $ 1,348,253,250
===============
Gross unrealized appreciation $ 15,679,628
Gross unrealized depreciation (78,520,369)
---------------
Net unrealized depreciation $ (62,840,741)
===============
(a) These securities are short-term floating rate certificates issued by
tender option bond trusts and are secured by the underlying municipal bond
securities.
(b) Convertible security.
(c) Depositary receipts.
(d) Floating rate security.
(e) Represents a pay-in-kind security which may pay interest/dividends in
additional face/shares.
(f) The security is a perpetual bond and has no stated maturity date.
(g) The security may be offered and sold to "qualified institutional buyers"
under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933.
(h) All or a portion of security held as collateral in connection with open
financial futures contracts.
o Investments in companies considered to be an affiliate of the Fund, for
purposes of Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, were as
follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dividend
Affiliate Net Activity Income
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BlackRock Liquidity Series, LLC
Cash Sweep Series $(54,265,247) $746,248
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Financial futures contracts purchased as of January 31, 2008 were as
follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Unrealized
Contracts Issue Expiration Date Face Value Depreciation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1,883 2-Year U.S. Treasury Bonds March 2008 $401,622,310 $ (131,403)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Financial futures contracts sold as of January 31, 2008 were as follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Unrealized
Contracts Issue Expiration Date Face Value Appreciation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
595 30-Year U.S.
Treasury Bonds March 2008 $70,994,678 $ 3,760
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Forward interest rate swaps outstanding as of January 31, 2008 were as
follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unrealized
Notional Appreciation
Amount (Depreciation)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Receive a fixed rate of 3.2325% and pay a floating rate based on 3-month USD LIBOR
Broker, Citibank NA
Expires January 2010 $ 216,600,000 $ 1,128,486
Pay a fixed rate of 4.3975% and receive a floating rate based on 3-month USD LIBOR
Broker, Citibank NA
Expires January 2018 $ 49,200,000 (484,571)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total $ 643,915
===============
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2008 (Unaudited) (in U.S. dollars)
o Forward credit default swaps entered into as of January 31, 2008 were as
follows:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notional Unrealized
Amount Depreciation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bought credit default protection on Capital One Financial Corp. and pay 4.175%
Broker, Citibank NA
Expires March 2013 $14,000,000 $ (110,460)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o For Fund compliance purposes, the Fund's industry classifications refer to
any one or more of the industry sub-classifications used by one or more
widely recognized market indexes or ratings group indexes, and/or as
defined by Fund management. This definition may not apply for purposes of
this report, which may combine industry sub-classifications for reporting
ease. Industries are shown as a percent of net assets.
Item 2 - Controls and Procedures
2(a) - The registrant's principal executive and principal financial
officers or persons performing similar functions have concluded that
the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended
(the "1940 Act")) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the
filing of this report based on the evaluation of these controls and
procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and Rule
13a-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
2(b) - There were no changes in the registrant's internal control over
financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act)
that occurred during the registrant's last fiscal quarter that have
materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,
the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.
Item 3 - Exhibits
Certifications - Attached hereto
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the
Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
By: /s/ Donald C. Burke
--------------------------------
Donald C. Burke
Chief Executive Officer of
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Date: March 24, 2008
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the
Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the
following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.
By: /s/ Donald C. Burke
--------------------------------
Donald C. Burke
Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) of
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Date: March 24, 2008
By: /s/ Neal J. Andrews
--------------------------------
Neal J. Andrews
Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer) of
BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc.
Date: March 24, 2008