Commerce & Trade Corporation and Distance Shipping & Transport, Inc, form a business trust. eCharge Auto Company and Fleet Electric Corporation form a joint stock company. Green AgriCorp and Harvest Farms, Inc, form an in-corporated cooperative. What features do these combinations of business organization have in common?

There are differences among these forms of business organiza-tions, but all of them resemble corporations. For example, the joint stock company features ownership by shares of stock, management by directors and officers, and perpetual existence. Similar to a corporation, a business trust distributes profits to persons who are not personally responsible for the debts of the firm, and the management of the business is accomplished by trustees (a corporation is managed by its directors and officers). An incorporated cooperative, which is subject to state laws covering non-profit corporations, distributes profits to its owners.
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