Axios

China finally reopened its economy earlier this year after years of extreme COVID restrictions. So far, it's a giant fizzle — with profound ramifications for the rest of the globe.

Why it matters: China has been a reliable engine powering global growth for three decades, becoming the world's second-largest economy in the process. That engine, for now, looks to have stalled out.

The presumed death of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin adds to the growing list of people who died or were attacked under suspicious circumstances after undermining Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The big picture: Mysterious deaths of Russian oligarchs or anti-Kremlin figures of every stripe have become commonplace since Putin came to power more than two decades ago.

The apparent deaths of Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and other high-ranking officials of the Wagner Private Military Company in a plane crash this week leaves the Kremlin-funded group's future in question.

Why it matters: Without its founder and other top commanders, it is difficult to predict how Wagner will operate going forward, but it is likely that the group is the weakest it has ever been since first emerging nearly a decade ago, analysts told Axios.

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde said on Friday the world's "fight against inflation is not yet won," becoming the latest economic policymaker to resist declaring victory despite signs of easing price pressures.

Why it matters: Lagarde spoke at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wy., where Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell earlier said that interest rates in the U.S. may need to go higher to tame inflation.

The Biden administration told the Israeli government last week that it would have to make significant concessions to the Palestinians as part of any possible mega-deal with Saudi Arabia that includes normalization between the kingdom and Israel, four U.S. officials and a source briefed on the issue told Axios.

Why it matters: Reaching a deal that includes a Saudi-Israel peace agreement will be a historic foreign policy achievement for President Biden. The administration is pushing to get an agreement before the end of the first quarter of next year, when the presidential campaign is expected to consume Biden's agenda.