OVERNIGHT MONEY: Biden bedlam

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR:

Third time’s the charm?: The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its third gross domestic product estimate for this year’s first quarter. The first two came in at a not-quite-robust 1.8 percent, so keep an eye on this final round to see if the first few months of the year were really as bad economically as people think

The latest GDP announcement is set to come not long after the Federal Reserve downgraded its estimate for this year’s economic growth, to between 2.7 percent and 2.9 percent. 

Road trip!: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is heading back to New Hampshire tomorrow. No, it’s not a fledgling presidential campaign – at least as far as we know. (We kid because we love.)

Instead, Geithner’s headed up north to take part in a lecture series hosted by Dartmouth College, his alma mater. While meeting with local business leaders, the secretary will also be touting the key role manufacturing plays in the nation’s economic recovery, as well as how the administration plans to spur growth for smaller businesses and tackle the deficit.

{mosads}Presidential daybook: After addressing fundraisers in New York (as we write, even), the president is scheduled to travel down to Pittsburgh, where he will talk about beefing up technology in the American manufacturing sector.

The farewell tour continues: Next stop for Sheila Bair: The National Press Club. The FDIC head actually wraps up her five-year term on July 8. But in the meantime, she’ll be offering her take on the financial system at a Friday Press Club luncheon – both gazing back at the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and looking forward as regulators hope to fix said system to prevent another crisis.

The hearing roundup: A House Financial Services subcommittee is set to look into mutual funds on Friday. Lawmakers will hear from a slew of market experts and academics on the market, how it can be stabilized and how confident investors should be in them.

Economic indicators:

— The Federal Reserve will release weekly data on the assets and liabilities of the nation’s commercial banks.

— And the Census Bureau will release new data on manufacturers’ shipments, inventories and orders. Manufacturing has slowed during the past couple of months because of high energy costs. 

BREAKING THURSDAY:

Hey, there’s progress somewhere: The House passed a major patent reform bill Thursday that big business says will help create jobs. The measure actually has a strong shot of becoming law, to boot, since it’s similar to Senate legislation passed this year.

The biggest reform in the bill would change the U.S. from a first-to-invent to a first-inventor-to-file patent system. Proponents of this change have argued that this would be a step toward harmonizing the U.S. patent system with that used by most of the rest of the world – not to mention cut down the three year average backlog at the Patent and Trademark Office and the costly lawsuits over who the true inventor of a product actually is.

But opponents have argued that this change would put up new hurdles to people seeking patents, including small companies. 

Tax cuts? Maybe: The need for revenue raisers may be the major sticking point in the debt-ceiling talks, but a top Democrat gave further indication Thursday that his party was open to including certain tax cuts in a debt package to help give the economy a boost.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic message maven, said after a meeting with business chief executives that Democrats would consider making the research and development tax credit permanent, tax breaks for clean energy and manufacturing. 

Gas prices’ latest impact: The IRS increased its reimbursement rate for driving, up to 55.5 cents per mile, in what The Wall Street Journal dubbed “an unusual midyear increase.”

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED:

On the Money’s Thursday:

— CBO: Uncertainty, debt likely hurting the economy.

— Mitt Romney embraces the pledge. (Think Grover Norquist.)

— House Appropriations takes aim at Dodd-Frank.

— Related: Mitch McConnell says it’s good for the economy to not fund Dodd-Frank agencies.

— Elizabeth Warren, CFPB ask: What should we regulate, non-bank division?

— U.S. Chamber not with Jim DeMint on IMF.

— Sherrod Brown wants the comptroller axed.

— The IRS could do more to protect its databases.

— New home sales drop.

— And initial jobless claims rise again. 

Feedback? Tips? Anything else? bbecker@digital-staging.thehill.com.