They say warrant-less stops can be a frightening and degrading experience for the tens of thousands of black and Latino men who have been stopped and frisked over the past decade.

The latter often still think mainly in terms of the "social responsibility approach" and thus seem to prefer deals that are riskier and less attractive than normal investment criteria would warrant.

Mr Obama, who will be taking office more or less at the moment when the ICC is expected to issue its warrant, needs a new policy even more badly.