InterestedParty

I'm not sure why either, though I'm confident of my source. Swap rates can vary quite a bit intraday, but not to the extent that we're talking about here.

Graph of 3 and 5 years swap rates. Missing the last couple of days data where there were slight falls. Seems an upward trend to me from Feb -> not surprising fixed rates are going up.

What about the transfer of risk from the public sector to the private sector? What about the extra scrutiny and diligence that the private sector brings to get things right? The financing of these projects is not the whole story - effective management and running of the projects can lead to far greater savings. Also, why would the government want to hide the 'expense' of building a new hospital or school? - it isn't exactly analogous to a dodgy expense claim. Surely we should be happy the government is investing in Health and Education etc?

I get daily swap pricing as part of my job for various different terms (you can also just get out of the FT) and I agree with your 3 year rate of 2.94%, and also the link to fixed rate mortgages. HOWEVER, swap rates have risen quite dramatically over the last couple of weeks (easing everso slightly in the last few days - but much higher overall). Don't have access the info at the mo, but will try to post a graph of 3 year rates for the year in the next few days. Can't understand where you get the fall from...