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. Fund Address: P.O. Box 9011 Princeton, NJ 08543-9011 Name and address of agent for service: Robert C. Doll, Jr., 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: (609) 282-2800 Date of fiscal year end: 10/31/2007 Date of reporting period: 11/01/06 - 01/31/07 Item 1 - Schedule of Investments BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2007 (in U.S. dollars) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Securities ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Face Industry Amount Capital Trusts Value ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Banks - 12.2% $ 12,035,000 ABN AMRO North America Holding Preferred Capital Repackaging Trust I, 6.523% (a)(b)(c) $ 12,518,963 2,000,000 Bank One Capital III, 8.75% due 9/01/2030 2,589,944 16,455,000 Chase Capital II Series B, 5.871% due 2/01/2027 (b) 15,963,473 3,630,000 First Empire Capital Trust II, 8.277% due 6/01/2027 3,801,329 2,000,000 HSBC America Capital Trust I, 7.808% due 12/15/2026 (a) 2,078,080 15,835,000 HSBC Capital Funding LP/Jersey Channel Islands, 10.176% (a)(b)(c) 23,100,620 7,300,000 HSBC Finance Capital Trust IX, 5.911% due 11/30/2035 (b) 7,322,645 12,275,000 Hubco Capital Trust II Series B, 7.65% due 6/15/2028 12,827,375 998,000 JPM Capital Trust I, 7.54% due 1/15/2027 1,035,146 2,000,000 Lloyds TSB Bank Plc, 6.90% (c) 2,012,500 18,470,000 Nationsbank Capital Trust III, 5.91% due 1/15/2027 (b) 18,087,265 2,000,000 Republic New York Corp., 7.53% due 12/04/2026 2,077,858 4,500,000 ST George Funding Co. LLC, 8.485% (a)(c) 4,719,190 4,175,000 SunTrust Preferred Capital I, 5.853% (b)(c) 4,212,529 -------------- 112,346,917 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Finance - 2.2% 13,670,000 Capital One Capital III, 7.686% due 8/15/2036 15,384,696 4,630,000 MBNA Capital A, 8.278% due 12/01/2026 4,821,636 -------------- 20,206,332 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diversified Financial Services - 4.0% 15,000,000 AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, 8.393% due 12/15/2016 (b) 16,542,795 10,000,000 CIT Capital Trust I, 7.70% due 2/15/2027 10,372,850 9,000,000 Farm Credit Bank of Texas Series 1, 7.561% (b)(c) 9,536,040 -------------- 36,451,685 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Utilities - 2.2% 14,950,000 HL&P Capital Trust II Series B, 8.257% due 2/01/2037 15,567,211 5,000,000 SWEPCO Capital I, 5.25% due 10/01/2043 (b) 4,944,090 -------------- 20,511,301 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gas Utilities - 0.6% 5,000,000 AGL Capital Trust I Series B, 8.17% due 6/01/2037 5,224,140 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Insurance - 15.5% 12,175,000 AON Corp., 8.205% due 1/01/2027 13,930,148 23,725,000 AXA, 8.60% due 12/15/2030 (Surplus Notes) 30,499,840 21,300,000 Ace Capital Trust II, 9.70% due 4/01/2030 28,775,917 15,000,000 Farmers Exchange Capital, 7.05% due 7/15/2028 (a) 15,513,855 10,000,000 GE Global Insurance Holding Corp., 7.75% due 6/15/2030 12,037,640 1,000,000 GenAmerica Capital I, 8.525% due 6/30/2027 (a) 1,050,980 3,000,000 Genworth Financial, Inc., 6.15% due 11/15/2066 (b) 2,987,907 6,066,000 ING Capital Funding Trust III, 8.439% (b)(c) 6,675,560 3,605,000 Oil Casualty Insurance Ltd., 8% due 9/15/2034 (a) 3,578,727 6,325,000 Principal Life Insurance Co., 8% due 3/01/2044 (Surplus Notes) (a) 6,756,156 3,750,000 Zenith National Insurance Capital Trust I, 8.55% due 8/01/2028 (a) 3,862,500 15,600,000 Zurich Capital Trust I, 8.376% due 6/01/2037 (a) 16,325,587 -------------- 141,994,817 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multi-Utilities - 3.1% 10,000,000 Dominion Resources Capital Trust I, 7.83% due 12/01/2027 10,370,240 15,000,000 Dominion Resources Capital Trust III, 8.40% due 1/15/2031 18,277,935 -------------- 28,648,175 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Road & Rail - 0.4% 3,750,000 BNSF Funding Trust I, 6.613% due 12/15/2055 (b) 3,643,999 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thrifts & Mortgage Finance - 4.3% 1,000,000 Astoria Capital Trust I, 9.75% due 11/01/2029 (a) 1,122,500 5,000,000 Astoria Capital Trust I Series B, 9.75% due 11/01/2029 5,634,500 5,760,000 Dime Capital Trust I Series A, 9.33% due 5/06/2027 6,073,108 12,765,000 Greenpoint Capital Trust I, 9.10% due 6/01/2027 13,440,728 3,005,000 ML Capital Trust I, 9.875% due 3/01/2027 3,159,214 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Securities ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Face Industry Amount Capital Trusts Value ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 9,775,000 Webster Capital Trust I, 9.36% due 1/29/2027 (a) $ 10,248,603 -------------- 39,678,653 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Capital Trusts (Cost - $397,542,242) - 44.5% 408,706,019 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shares Held Preferred Stocks ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Markets - 6.3% 7,600,000 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., 7.518% (b) 8,297,961 510,000 Deutsche Bank Capital Funding Trust VIII, 6.375% 13,116,588 96,000 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Series A, 3.91% (b) 2,513,280 720,000 Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Series D, 6.03% (b) 18,864,000 600,000 Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., 6.50% 15,648,000 -------------- 58,439,829 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Banks - 12.1% 4,000,000 Barclays Bank Plc, 6.278% (b) 3,892,988 4,650 First Tennessee Bank NA, 3.90% (a)(b) 4,826,700 5,000,000 HBOS Plc, 5.92% (a)(b) 4,890,160 8,000,000 ICICI Bank Ltd., 7.25% (a) 8,223,008 319,000 KeyCorp Capital IX, 6.75% 8,140,880 166,800 Provident Financial Group, Inc., 7.75% 4,289,896 20,000,000 Resona Preferred Global Securities Ltd., 7.191% (a)(b) 20,916,700 4,800,000 Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, 9.118% 5,288,827 23,000 SG Preferred Capital II, 6.302% (b) 23,905,625 800,000 Santander Finance Preferred SA Unipersonal, 6.50% (a) 20,125,040 250,000 Santander Finance Preferred SA Unipersonal, 6.80% (a) 6,273,450 -------------- 110,773,274 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diversified Financial Services - 8.1% 152,400 Bank of America Corp. Series D, 6.20% 4,053,840 636,075 Bank of America Corp. Series E, 5.718% (b) 16,251,716 655,000 CIT Group, Inc. Series A, 6.35% 17,259,250 272,000 Cobank ACB, 7% (a) 13,777,072 22,900,000 JPMorgan Chase Capital XXI Series U, 6.25% (b) 22,721,036 74,062,914 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Utilities - 2.6% 14,000 Alabama Power Co., 5.83% 347,620 114,400 Entergy Arkansas, Inc., 6.45% 2,885,031 89,850 Entergy Louisiana LLC, 6.95% 9,254,550 80,000 Interstate Power & Light Co. Series B, 8.375% 2,544,000 204,000 PPL Electric Utilities Corp., 6.25% 5,316,750 140,000 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Series A, 6% 3,654,000 -------------- 24,001,951 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gas Utilities - 1.5% 556,000 Southern Union Co., 7.55% 14,294,760 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Insurance - 13.8% 880,000 ACE Ltd. Series C, 7.80% 22,994,400 5,950,000 AXA SA, 6.379% (a)(b) 5,820,700 100,000 Aegon NV Series 1, 6.235% (b) 2,606,000 165,000 Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., 7.401% (b) 4,243,800 140,000 Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. Series A, 7.25% 3,635,800 36,000 Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. Series B, 7.50% (b) 3,823,877 139,200 Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. Series A, 7.75% 3,640,080 6,930,000 Financial Security Assurance Holdings Ltd., 6.40% (a)(b) 6,943,387 7,500,000 Great West Life & Annuity Insurance Co., 7.153% (a)(b) 7,935,855 10,425,000 Metlife, Inc., 6.40% 10,444,693 493,000 Metlife, Inc. Series B, 6.50% 13,168,030 5,000,000 Oil Insurance Ltd., 7.558% (a)(b) 5,160,750 5,700,000 PartnerRe Finance II, 6.44% due 12/01/2066 (b) 5,673,153 140,000 Prudential Plc, 6.50% 3,612,000 660,000 RenaissanceRe Holding Ltd. Series D, 6.60% 16,302,000 BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2007 (in U.S. dollars) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Securities ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shares Industry Held Preferred Stocks Value ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9,800 Zurich RegCaPS Funding Trust, 6.58% (a)(b) $ 10,446,800 -------------- 126,451,325 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multi-Utilities - 1.0% 8,400,000 Dominion Resources, Inc., 7.50% (b) 9,060,551 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels - 0.8% 7,225,000 Enterprise Products Operating LP, 8.375% (b) 7,892,742 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thrifts & Mortgage Finance - 12.9% 264,650 Fannie Mae Series L, 5.125% 12,306,225 1,210,000 Fannie Mae Series O, 7% (b) 64,583,750 190,000 Freddie Mac Series Q, 3.85% (b) 8,892,000 105,000 Freddie Mac Series T, 6.42% 5,630,100 695,000 Freddie Mac Series V, 5.57% 17,309,879 8,000,000 Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp. Series D, 9.02% (b) 8,017,500 48,000 Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. Series C, 7.30% (d) 1,308,000 -------------- 118,047,454 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wireless Telecommunication 2,423 Centaur Funding Corp., 9.08% (a) 2,811,437 Services - 0.3% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Preferred Stocks (Cost - $533,201,821) - 59.4% 545,836,237 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Estate Investment Trusts ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Estate - 15.3% 251,400 Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Series C, 8.375% 6,777,744 400,000 CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. Series C, 7.75% 10,300,000 400,000 Developers Diversified Realty Corp., 8% 10,280,000 80,000 Duke Realty Corp. Series K, 6.50% 2,019,200 2,390 First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., 6.236% (b) 2,388,506 4,000 Firstar Realty LLC, 8.875% (a) 5,118,750 448,000 Health Care Property Investors, Inc. Series F, 7.10% 11,441,920 172,800 Health Care REIT, Inc. Series F, 7.625% 4,449,600 100,000 Kimco Realty Corp. Series F, 6.65% 2,531,000 1,200,000 New Plan Excel Realty Trust Series E, 7.625% 30,720,000 72,000 PS Business Parks, Inc. Series K, 7.95% 1,915,200 64,000 PS Business Parks, Inc. Series M, 7.20% 1,622,400 160,000 Public Storage, Inc. Series I, 7.25% 4,175,008 445,000 Public Storage, Inc. Series L, 6.75% 11,276,300 607,550 Regency Centers Corp. Series C, 7.45% 15,705,167 58,000 Regency Centers Corp. Series D, 7.25% 1,486,250 11,857 Sovereign Real Estate Investment Corp., 12% (a) 18,259,780 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Real Estate Investment Trusts (Cost - $135,673,035) - 15.3% 140,466,825 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Face Amount Trust Preferreds ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Markets - 0.1% $ 875,000 Lehman Brothers Holdings Capital Trust III Series K, 1.558% due 3/15/2052 869,009 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commercial Banks - 0.3% 2,790,000 National City Capital Trust II, 6.625% due 11/15/2066 2,806,444 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Communications Equipment - 0.2% 2,000,000 Corporate-Backed Trust Certificates, 8.375% due 11/15/2028 2,018,088 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consumer Finance - 1.9% 16,702,000 Capital One Capital II, 7.50% due 6/15/2066 17,681,928 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Utilities - 2.7% 4,750,000 Georgia Power Co. Series O, 1.475% due 4/15/2033 4,623,119 3,000,000 HECO Capital Trust III, 6.50% due 3/18/2034 3,089,821 5,000,000 National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp., 6.75% due 2/15/2043 5,014,801 10,835,000 PPL Energy Supply LLC, 7% due 7/15/2046 11,186,169 950,000 Virginia Power Capital Trust II, 1.844% due 7/30/2042 936,834 -------------- 24,850,744 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2007 (in U.S. dollars) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Securities ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Face Industry Amount Trust Preferreds Value ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gas Utilities - 0.7% $ 500,000 Dominion CNG Capital Trust I, 1.95% due 10/31/2041 $ 501,467 5,750,000 Southwest Gas Capital II, 7.70% due 9/15/2043 6,008,883 -------------- 6,510,350 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Insurance - 2.7% 11,000,000 ABN AMRO North America Capital Funding Trust II, 5.445% (a)(b)(c) 10,944,442 7,375,000 Berkley W R Capital Trust, 6.75% due 7/26/2045 7,258,488 1,000,000 Everest Re Capital Trust, 1.963% due 11/15/2032 1,011,361 5,000,000 Lincoln National Capital VI Series F, 6.75% due 9/11/2052 5,078,166 -------------- 24,292,457 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multi-Utilities - 0.1% 397,425 PSEG Funding Trust II, 8.75% due 12/31/2032 407,816 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thrifts & Mortgage Finance - 4.2% 4,580,000 Countrywide Capital V, 7% due 11/01/2066 4,630,164 28,362,500 Countrywide Financial Corp., 1.50% due 4/01/2033 28,324,177 6,000,000 Dime Community Capital I, 7% due 4/14/2034 5,760,000 -------------- 38,714,341 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Trust Preferreds (Cost - $116,433,132) - 12.9% 118,151,177 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Preferred Securities (Cost - $1,182,850,230) - 132.1% 1,213,160,258 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate Bonds ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Automobiles - 2.1% 16,000,000 DaimlerChrysler NA Holding Corp., 8.50% due 1/18/2031 18,957,264 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diversified Financial Services - 1.6% 15,000,000 Sigma Finance Corp., 7.36% due 8/15/2011 (e) 15,000,000 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diversified Telecommunication 25,500,000 France Telecom SA, 8.50% due 3/01/2031 33,345,330 Services - 3.6% ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Utilities - 3.3% 16,575,000 Duke Energy Field Services LLC, 8.125% due 8/16/2030 19,969,676 10,000,000 FirstEnergy Corp. Series B, 6.45% due 11/15/2011 10,406,960 -------------- 30,376,636 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Media - 3.4% 5,000,000 Comcast Corp., 7.05% due 3/15/2033 5,412,660 5,000,000 Time Warner, Inc., 7.625% due 4/15/2031 5,604,575 18,000,000 Time Warner, Inc., 7.70% due 5/01/2032 20,354,184 -------------- 31,371,419 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wireless Telecommunication 18,000,000 AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., 8.75% due 3/01/2031 23,277,510 Services - 5.9% 2,000,000 Sprint Capital Corp., 6.90% due 5/01/2019 2,048,890 24,000,000 Sprint Capital Corp., 8.75% due 3/15/2032 28,495,008 -------------- 53,821,408 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Corporate Bonds (Cost - $173,443,756) - 19.9% 182,872,057 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beneficial Interest Short-Term Securities ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 80,212,578 BlackRock Liquidity Series, LLC Cash Sweep Series, 5.29% (f)(g) 80,212,578 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Short-Term Securities (Cost - $80,212,578) - 8.8% 80,212,578 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Investments (Cost - $1,436,506,564*) - 160.8% 1,476,244,893 Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets - (0.8%) (7,140,992) Preferred Stock, at Redemption Value - (60.0%) (550,825,283) -------------- Net Assets Applicable to Common Stock - 100.0% $ 918,278,618 ============== BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. Schedule of Investments as of January 31, 2007 (in U.S. dollars) * The cost and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments as of January 31, 2007, as computed for federal income tax purposes, were as follows: Aggregate cost $ 1,434,760,875 =============== Gross unrealized appreciation $ 53,594,898 Gross unrealized depreciation (12,110,880) --------------- Net unrealized appreciation $ 41,484,018 =============== (a) The security may be offered and sold to "qualified institutional buyers" under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. (b) Floating rate security. (c) The security is a perpetual bond and has no stated maturity date. (d) Depositary receipts. (e) Restricted security as to resale, representing 1.6% of net assets, was as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Acquisition Issue Date Cost Value -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sigma Finance Corp., 7.36% due 8/15/2011 2/13/2004 $ 15,000,000 $ 15,000,000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (f) 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: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Affiliate Net Activity Interest Income --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BlackRock Liquidity Series, LLC Cash Sweep Series $ 59,671,077 $ 801,270 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (g) Represents the current yield as of January 31, 2007. 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. o Financial futures contracts sold as of January 31, 2007 were as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Expiration Face Unrealized Contracts Issue Date Value Appreciation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,558 10-Year U.S. Treasury Notes March 2007 $ 277,017,919 $ 3,951,419 509 30-Year U.S. Treasury notes March 2007 $ 57,920,406 1,866,781 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Unrealized Appreciation $ 5,818,200 =========== o Swaps outstanding as of January 31, 2007 were as follows: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notional Unrealized Amount Appreciation ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sold credit default protection on a basket of preferred securities and receive 2.03% Broker, Lehman Brothers Special Finance Expires September 2007 $ 36,000,00 $ 471,924 Pay a fixed rate of 5.132% and receive a floating rate based on 3-month LIBOR Broker, JPMorgan Chase Expires September 2016 $ 125,000,000 1,987,140 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total $ 2,459,064 =========== Item 2 - Controls and Procedures 2(a) - The registrant's certifying officers have reasonably designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure material information relating to the registrant is made known to us by others particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared. The registrant's certifying officers have determined that the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures are effective based on our evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report. 2(b) - As of September 29, 2006, with the conclusion of the combination of Merrill Lynch's asset management business with BlackRock, the registrant was migrated to BlackRock's trading and compliance monitoring systems, and various personnel changes occurred. In conjunction with these business improvements, there were no changes in the registrants internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the last fiscal half-year of the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to 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/ Robert C. Doll, Jr. ----------------------- Robert C. Doll, Jr. Chief Executive Officer BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. Date: March 26, 2007 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/ Robert C. Doll, Jr. ----------------------- Robert C. Doll, Jr. Chief Executive Officer BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. Date: March 26, 2007 By: /s/ Donald C. Burke ----------------------- Donald C. Burke Chief Financial Officer BlackRock Preferred Income Strategies Fund, Inc. Date: March 26, 2007