Edgar Filing: TRI-CONTINENTAL CORP

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 811-0266

Tri-Continental Corporation
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in charter)

100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10017
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Lawrence P. Vogel
100 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10017
(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 850-1864

Date of fiscal year end: 12/31

Date of reporting period: 3/31/06

ITEM 1. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.

Tri-Continental Corporation

Portfolio of Investments (unaudited)

March 31, 2006

	Shares, Warrants, Shares
	Subject To Call/Put,
	Partnership Interest
	or Principal Amount		Value

COMMON STOCKS
AND WARRANTS 93.6%
AEROSPACE AND
DEFENSE 1.6%
General Dynamics Corporation	197,000	shs.	$	12,604,060
Honeywell International Inc.	663,700			28,386,449

				40,990,509

AIR FREIGHT AND
LOGISTICS 0.5%
FedEx Corp.	100,810			11,385,481


BEVERAGES 1.9%
Coca-Cola Company (The)	513,300			21,491,871
Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.	636,100			12,938,274
PepsiCo, Inc.	213,100			12,315,049

				46,745,194

BIOTECHNOLOGY 2.0%
Amgen Inc.*	327,700			23,917,184
Pharmion Corporation*	1,401,625			25,271,299

				49,188,483

BUILDING PRODUCTS 0.5%
Masco Corporation	377,300			12,258,477


CAPITAL MARKETS 2.6%
Bank of New York
Company, Inc. (The)	633,500			22,831,340
Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc.	360,300			28,377,228
Morgan Stanley	241,670			15,181,709

				66,390,277

CHEMICALS 2.5%
Dow Chemical Co. (The)	591,000			23,994,600
E.I. Du Pont de Nemours
and Company	599,400			25,300,674
Praxair, Inc.	238,300			13,142,245

				62,437,519

COMMERCIAL BANKS 3.3%
Bank of America Corporation	1,237,140			56,339,356
Wachovia Corporation	483,163			27,081,286

				83,420,642

COMMERCIAL SERVICES
AND SUPPLIES 1.6%
Cendant Corporation	1,497,600			25,983,360
Waste Management Inc.	375,100	⁽¹⁾		13,241,030

				39,224,390

COMMUNICATIONS
EQUIPMENT 6.1%
Cisco Systems, Inc.*	1,607,380			34,839,961
Corning Incorporated*	1,218,300			32,784,453
Lucent Technologies, Inc.*	6,802,800			20,748,540
Lucent Technologies, Inc.
(exercise price of $2.75,
expiring 12/10/2007)*	11,224,425	wts.		7,015,266
Nokia Corp. (ADR)	1,886,000	shs.		39,077,920
QUALCOMM Inc.	351,500			17,787,658

				152,253,798

COMPUTERS AND
PERIPHERALS 4.2%
Apple Computer, Inc.*	270,500			16,964,408
EMC Corporation*	2,118,100			28,869,703
International Business
Machines Corporation	589,920			48,650,702
Seagate Technology	413,600			10,890,088

				105,374,901

CONTAINERS AND
PACKAGING 1.3%
Smurfit-Stone
Container Company*	2,322,400			31,491,744


DIVERSIFIED CONSUMER
SERVICES 0.5%
ServiceMaster Company (The)	881,200			11,561,344


DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL
SERVICES 5.1%
CIT Group Inc.	205,000			10,971,600
Citigroup Inc.	1,490,430			70,393,009
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	1,150,000			47,886,000

				129,250,609

DIVERSIFIED
TELECOMMUNICATION
SERVICES 2.2%
BellSouth Corporation	1,155,000			40,020,750
Citizens Communications
Company	1,119,000			14,849,130

				54,869,880

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
AND INSTRUMENTS 0.4%
Symbol Technologies, Inc.	1,019,400			10,785,252

ELECTRIC UTILITIES 0.5%
American Electric Power
Company, Inc.	167,300			5,691,546
Southern Company	177,100			5,803,567

				11,495,113

ENERGY EQUIPMENT
AND SERVICES 1.1%
Halliburton Company	375,400			27,411,708


FOOD AND STAPLES
RETAILING 1.3%
CVS Corporation	668,200			19,959,134
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.	275,420			13,010,841

				32,969,975

FOOD PRODUCTS 0.3%
Hershey Company (The)	138,300			7,223,409


HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT
AND SUPPLIES 1.3%
Boston Scientific Corporation*	657,700			15,159,985
Medtronic, Inc.	367,300			18,640,475

				33,800,460

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
AND SERVICES 3.2%
Aetna Inc.	265,000			13,022,100
HCA Inc.	323,600			14,817,644
UnitedHealth Group
Incorporated	380,800			21,271,488
WellPoint Inc.*	415,900			32,203,137

				81,314,369

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS
AND LEISURE 0.8%
McDonald’s Corporation	617,100			21,203,556


INDUSTRIAL
CONGLOMERATES 4.2%
General Electric Company	2,527,150			87,894,277
Tyco International Ltd.	695,740			18,701,491

				106,595,768

INSURANCE 3.0%
Allstate Corporation (The)	146,100			7,613,271
American International
Group, Inc.	527,800			34,882,302
MetLife, Inc.	173,300			8,382,521
UnumProvident Corporation	489,300			10,020,864
XL Capital Ltd. Class A	243,800			15,630,017

				76,528,975

INTERNET SOFTWARE
AND SERVICES 3.6%
Google Inc. Class A*	90,000			34,766,550
McAfee Inc.*	560,400			13,634,532
Symantec Corporation*	903,274			15,242,749
Yahoo! Inc.*	792,800			25,603,476

				89,247,307

IT SERVICES 0.3%
First Data Corporation	171,900			8,048,358


MACHINERY 1.1%
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	284,380			27,388,638


MEDIA 5.1%
Clear Channel
Communications, Inc.	747,400			21,682,074
Comcast Corporation Class A*	732,500			19,209,812
News Corp. Class A	1,260,200			20,931,922
Time Warner Inc.	1,880,300			31,570,237
Univision Communications Inc.
Class A*	743,000			25,611,210
Viacom Inc. Class B*	253,350			9,829,980

				128,835,235

METALS AND MINING 0.8%
Alcoa Inc.	656,900			20,074,864


MULTI-UTILITIES 0.5%
Dominion Resources, Inc.	188,900			13,039,767


MULTILINE RETAIL 2.3%
Dollar General Corporation	1,450,300			25,626,801
Federated Department
Stores, Inc.	179,800			13,125,400
Kohl’s Corporation*	397,700			21,082,077

				59,834,278

OIL, GAS AND
CONSUMABLE FUELS 6.2%
Chevron Corporation	525,900			30,486,423
ConocoPhillips	512,200			32,345,430
El Paso Corporation	510,700			6,153,935
Exxon Mobil Corporation	907,025	⁽¹⁾		55,201,542
Murphy Oil Corporation	268,625			13,382,897
Sunoco, Inc.	238,600			18,508,202

				156,078,429

PHARMACEUTICALS 6.6%
Forest Laboratories, Inc.*	456,900			20,391,447
Johnson & Johnson	487,907			28,893,853
Lilly Eli & Company	225,700			12,481,210
Pfizer Inc.	1,899,438			47,333,995
Schering-Plough Corporation	325,100			6,173,649
Valeant Pharmaceuticals
International	1,310,000			20,763,500
Wyeth	627,000			30,422,040

				166,459,694

SEMICONDUCTORS AND
SEMICONDUCTOR
EQUIPMENT 0.8%
Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.	534,400			19,855,632


SOFTWARE 5.1%
Business Objects S.A. (ADR)*	357,800			13,054,333
Cogent Inc.*	1,482,900			27,077,754
Mercury Interactive Corporation*	849,370			29,451,905
Microsoft Corp.	2,136,256			58,180,932

				127,764,924

SPECIALTY RETAIL 2.0%
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Class A	541,200			31,551,960
The Home Depot, Inc.	415,800			17,588,340

				49,140,300

THRIFTS AND
MORTGAGE FINANCE 1.4%
Fannie Mae	400,300			20,575,420
Freddie Mac	223,700			13,645,700

				34,221,120

TOBACCO 3.7%
Altria Group, Inc.	835,480			59,202,113
UST Inc.	798,890			33,233,824

				92,435,937

WIRELESS
TELECOMMUNICATION
SERVICES 2.1%
American Tower Corporation
Class A*	928,500			28,152,120
Sprint Nextel Corporation	981,900			25,372,296

				53,524,416

TOTAL COMMON STOCKS
AND WARRANTS				2,352,120,732


OPTIONS PURCHASED* 2.3%
BEVERAGES 0.2%
Coca-Cola Enterprise Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $15	8,631			5,912,235


COMMUNICATIONS
EQUIPMENT 0.3%
Cisco Systems, Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $17.50	4,999			3,349,330
Comverse Technology Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $20	5,480			3,890,800

				7,240,130

COMPUTERS AND
PERIPHERALS 0.2%
Apple Computer Inc. Call,
expiring April 2006 at $85	1,747			8,735
Seagate Technology Call,
expiring January 2007 at $17.50	4,903			4,755,910

				4,764,645

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS
AND LEISURE 0.2%
McDonald’s Corporation Call,
expiring January 2008 at $30	6,562			5,085,550


INDUSTRIAL
CONGLOMERATES 0.1%
Tyco International Ltd. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $25	5,750			3,220,000


METALS AND MINING 0.1%
Alcoa Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $25	4,026			3,301,320

OIL, GAS AND
COSUMABLE FUELS 0.2%
ConocoPhillips Call,
expiring January 2007 at $75	9,348			2,383,740
Exxon Mobil Corporation Call,
expiring January 2007 at $80	60,468			2,297,784

				4,681,524

PHARMACEUTICALS 0.0%
Valeant Pharmaceuticals
International Call,
expiring September 2006 at $20	694			20,820

SOFTWARE 0.4%
Activision, Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $15	9,937			2,981,100
Mercury Interactive
Corporation Call,
expiring January 2008 at $20	4,628			8,006,440

				10,987,540

THRIFTS AND
MORTGAGE FINANCE 0.1%
Fannie Mae Call,
expiring September 2006 at $70	15,114			151,140
Freddie Mac Call,
expiring January 2008 at $55	2,073			2,363,220

				2,514,360

TOBACCO 0.5%
Altria Group Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $70	3,108			3,014,760
Altria Group Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $75	3,148			2,329,520
Altria Group Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $80	6,841			3,694,140
Altria Group Inc. Call,
expiring January 2008 at $85	10,380			1,505,100
UST Inc. Call,
expiring July 2006 at $35	2,765			1,935,500

				12,479,020

TOTAL OPTIONS PURCHASED				60,207,144

TRI-CONTINENTAL
FINANCIAL
DIVISION† 0.1%
WCAS Capital Partners II,
L.P	$ 4,301,124			1,784,623
Whitney Subordinated
Debt Fund, L.P.	1,507,882			410,272

TOTAL TRI-CONTINENTAL
FINANCIAL DIVISION				2,194,895

SHORT-TERM
HOLDINGS 3.6%
TIME DEPOSITS 1.8%
HSBC Bank Grand Cayman
4.781%, 4/3/2006	44,134,000			44,134,000
US TREASURY NOTES 1.8%
US Treasury Notes 2.25%,
4/30/2006	44,650,000	⁽¹⁾		44,568,801

TOTAL SHORT-TERM
HOLDINGS				88,702,801

TOTAL
INVESTMENTS 99.6%				2,503,225,572

OTHER ASSETS LESS
LIABILITIES 0.4%				9,720,329

NET INVESTMENT
ASSETS 100.0%				2,512,945,901

CALL OPTIONS
WRITTEN
Exxon Mobil Corporation,
expiring April 2006 at $60	166,300	shs.		(257,765	)
Waste Management Inc.,
expiring April 2006 at $32.50	220,300			(616,840	)

				(874,605	)

PUT OPTIONS WRITTEN
Comverse Technology Inc.,
expiring April 2006 at $22.50	243,000			(97,200	)
Nextel Partners Inc. Class A,
expiring January 2007 at $30	2,000			(3,300	)
Sunoco, Inc., expiring
April 2006 at $75	102,600			(133,380	)
Valeant Pharmaceuticals
International, expiring
April 2006 at $17.50	160,600			(273,020	)

				(506,900	)

TOTAL OPTIONS WRITTEN			$	(1,381,505	)


*	Non-income producing security.

**	The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was $2,427,294,063. The tax basis gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation of portfolio securities were $226,965,410 and $(151,352,176), respectively.

†	At March 31, 2006, the Tri-Continental Financial Division comprised two investments that were purchased through private offerings and cannot be sold without prior registration under the Securities Act of 1933 or pursuant to an exemption therefrom. These investments are valued at fair value as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The acquisition dates of investments in the limited partnerships, along with their cost and values at March 31, 2006, were as follows:

Investment	Acquisition Date(s)	Cost	Value

WCAS Capital Partners II, L.P.	12/11/90 to 3/24/98	$4,301,124	$1,784,623
Whitney Subordinated Debt Fund, L.P.	7/12/89 to 11/10/98	1,507,882	410,272

Total		$5,809,006	$2,194,895

⁽¹⁾	All or part of the security is held as collateral for options written. As of March 31, 2006, the value of securities held as collateral was $40,825,836.
ADR - American Depositary Receipt.

Security Valuation - Securities traded on an exchange are valued at the last sales price on the primary exchange or market on which they are traded. Securities not listed on an exchange or security market, or securities for which there is no last sales price, are valued at the mean of the most recent bid and asked prices or are valued by J. & W. Seligman & Co. Incorporated (the “Manager”) based on quotations provided by primary market makers in such securities. Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (or are otherwise no longer valid or reliable) are valued at fair value determined in accordance with procedures approved by the Board of Directors. This can occur in the event of, among other things, natural disasters, acts of terrorism, market disruptions, intra-day trading halts, and extreme market volatility. The determination of fair value involves subjective judgments. As a result, using fair value to price a security may result in a price materially different from the prices used by other mutual funds to determine net asset value or the price that may be realized upon the actual sale of the security. Short-term holdings that mature in more than 60 days are valued at current market quotations. Short-term holdings maturing in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost.

ITEM 2. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

	a.	The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based upon their evaluation of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as conducted within 90 days of the filing date of this report, that these disclosure controls and procedures provide reasonable assurance that material information required to be disclosed by the registrant in the report it files or submits on Form N-Q is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission's rules and forms and that such material information is accumulated and communicated to the registrant's management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, in order to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

	b.	The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer are aware of no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 3. EXHIBITS.

	(a)	Certifications of principal executive officer and principal financial officer as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

SIGNATURES

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.

TRI-CONTINENTAL CORPORATION

By:	/S/ BRIAN T. ZINO
	Brian T. Zino
	President and Chief Executive Officer

Date:	May 25, 2006

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 in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By:	/S/ BRIAN T. ZINO
	Brian T. Zino
	President and Chief Executive Officer

Date:	May 25, 2006



By:	/S/ LAWRENCE P. VOGEL
	Lawrence P. Vogel
	Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Date:	May 25, 2006

TRI-CONTINENTAL CORPORATION

EXHIBIT INDEX

	(a)	Certifications of principal executive officer and principal financial officer as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940.