Kraft Foods, the US-based food and drinks conglomerate, yesterday took advantage a narrow window of opportunity to sell €2.85bn ($4.44bn) of bonds despite high volatility earlier this week that forced credit spreads to all-time highs.

Spreads on investment grade debt or risk premiums on Tuesday for the iTraxx Europe index hit 159 basis points – the highest they have ever been – as volatility spiked before the US Federal Reserve and other central banks moved to boost liquidity in the financial markets.