the lendingtree loans business is presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets , consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income ( loss ) and consolidated cash flows for all periods presented . except for the discussion under the heading `` discontinued operations , `` the analysis within management 's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations reflects our continuing operations . economic conditions during march 2020 , a global pandemic was declared by the world health organization related to the rapidly growing outbreak of covid-19 . the pandemic has significantly impacted the economic conditions in the u.s. , as federal , state and local governments react to the public health crisis , creating significant uncertainties in the u.s. economy . the downstream impact of various lockdown orders and related economic pullback are affecting our business and marketplace participants to varying degrees . we are continuously monitoring the impacts of the current economic conditions related to the covid-19 pandemic and the effect on our business , financial condition and results of operations . of our three reportable segments , the consumer segment has been most impacted as unsecured credit and the flow of capital in certain areas of the market have contracted . the impact to our home and insurance segments was much less substantial and these segments recovered by the end of 2020. while forecasting the timeline of full recovery for the consumer segment remains challenging , the momentum of recovery has increased in each quarter subsequent to the onset of the covid-19 pandemic . we are encouraged by the progress made , and continue to view the consumer segment with optimism over the medium to long term . most of our selling and marketing expenses are variable costs that we adjust dynamically in relation to revenue opportunities to profitably meet demand . thus , as our revenue was negatively impacted during the recession , our marketing expenses generally decreased in line with revenue . 35 segment reporting we have three reportable segments : home , consumer and insurance . recent business acquisitions on february 28 , 2020 , we acquired an equity interest in stash for $ 80.0 million . stash is a consumer investing and banking platform . stash brings together banking , investing , and financial services education into one seamless experience offering a full suite of personal investment accounts , traditional and roth iras , custodial investment accounts , and banking services , including checking accounts and debit cards with a stock-back® rewards program . on january 10 , 2019 , we acquired valuepenguin , a personal finance website that offers consumers objective analysis on a variety of financial topics from insurance to credit cards , for $ 106.2 million . combining valuepenguin 's high-quality content and search engine optimization capability with proprietary technology and insurance carrier network from quotewizard enables us to provide immense value to insurance carriers and agents . this strategic acquisition positions us to achieve further scale in the insurance space as well as the broader financial services industry . on october 31 , 2018 , we acquired quotewizard , one of the largest insurance comparison marketplaces in the growing online insurance advertising market , for $ 299.5 million in cash and potential contingent consideration payments of up to $ 70.2 million through october 2021 , subject to achieving specific targets . quotewizard services clients by driving consumers to insurance companies ' websites , providing leads to agents and carriers , as well as phone transfers of consumers into carrier call centers . this acquisition has established lendingtree as a leading player in the online insurance advertising industry , while continuing our ongoing diversification within the financial services category . on july 23 , 2018 , we acquired student loan hero for $ 62.7 million in cash , of which $ 2.3 million was recognized as severance expense in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income ( loss ) . student loan hero , a personal finance website dedicated to helping student loan borrowers manage their student debt , offers current and former students in-depth financial comparison tools , educational resources , and unbiased , personalized advice . this strategic transaction allows us to scale our student loan business and provide consumers with the tools and resources to better understand their personal finances and make smarter financial decisions . on june 11 , 2018 , we acquired ovation , a leading provider of credit services with a strong customer service reputation , for $ 12.1 million in cash and potential contingent consideration payments of up to $ 8.75 million through june 2020 , subject to achieving specified targets . ovation utilizes a proprietary software application that facilitates the credit repair process and is integrated directly with certain credit reporting agencies while educating consumers on credit improvement via ongoing outreach with ovation case advisors . the proprietary software application offers consumers a simple , streamlined process to identify , dispute , and correct inaccuracies within their credit reports . ovation 's experienced management team , strong credit reporting agency relationships and customized software platform enable us to help more consumers achieve their financial goals through the lendingtree platform . these acquisitions continue our diversification strategy . recent mortgage interest rate trends interest rate and market risks can be substantial in the mortgage lead generation business . short-term fluctuations in mortgage interest rates primarily affect consumer demand for mortgage refinancings , while long-term fluctuations in mortgage interest rates , coupled with the u.s. real estate market , affect consumer demand for new mortgages . consumer demand , in turn , affects lender demand for mortgage leads from third-party sources , as well as our own ability to attract online consumers to our website . story_separator_special_tag 41 during 2019 , we recorded aggregate contingent consideration expense of $ 28.4 million due to adjustments in the estimated fair value of the earnout payments related to our recent acquisitions . for 2019 , the contingent consideration expense for the quotewizard and snapcap acquisitions were $ 27.1 million and $ 2.2 million , respectively . this was partially offset by a contingent consideration gain for the depositaccounts acquisition of $ 1.0 million . interest expense interest expense increased in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the issuance of $ 575.0 million of our 2025 notes as well as the repurchase of a portion of our existing 2022 notes in july 2020. in 2020 , interest expense of $ 11.5 million was recognized on the newly-issued 2025 notes . further , a loss on debt extinguishment of $ 7.8 million was recognized within interest expense upon the partial repurchase of the 2022 notes . these increases to interest expense were partially offset by lower interest expense on the 2022 notes subsequent to the repurchase of $ 130.3 million principal amount of the 2022 notes . see note 15—debt for additional information on the issuance of the 2025 notes and the partial repurchase of the 2022 notes . income tax benefit replace_table_token_5_th for 2020 , the effective tax rate varied from the federal statutory rate of 21 % in part due to the benefit derived from excess tax deductions from the vesting of restricted stock and exercise of stock options of $ 2.5 million , including state taxes . the effective tax rate for 2020 was also impacted by a tax benefit of $ 6.1 million for the impact of the cares act , as described below . on march 27 , 2020 , president trump signed into law the cares act . this legislation is an economic relief package in response to the public health and economic impacts of covid-19 and includes various provisions that impact us , including , but not limited to , modifications for net operating losses , accelerated timeframe for refunds associated with prior minimum taxes and modifications of the limitation on business interest . we revalued deferred tax assets related to net operating losses in light of the changes in the cares act and recorded a net tax benefit of $ 6.1 million during 2020. these deferred tax assets are being revalued , as they have been carried back to 2016 and 2017 , which are tax periods prior to the tcja when the federal statutory tax rate was 35 % versus the 21 % federal statutory tax rate in effect after the enactment of the tcja . for 2019 , the effective tax rate varied from the federal statutory rate of 21 % primarily due to the benefit derived from excess tax deductions from the vesting of restricted stock and exercise of stock options of $ 17.1 million , including state taxes and the benefit of an expected 2019 federal research and development tax credit of $ 3.5 million , offset by expense due to incremental valuation allowance on state net operating losses of $ 3.9 million , primarily due to state legislative changes . discontinued operations the results of discontinued operations include the results of the lendingtree loans business formerly operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary , hlc . the sale of substantially all of the assets of hlc , including the lendingtree loans business , was completed on june 6 , 2012. hlc filed a petition under chapter 11 of the united states bankruptcy code on july 21 , 2019 , which was converted to chapter 7 of the united states bankruptcy code on september 16 , 2019. as a result of the voluntary bankruptcy petition , as of the initial july 21 , 2019 bankruptcy petition filing date , hlc and its consolidated subsidiary were deconsolidated from lendingtree 's consolidated financial statements . the effect of such deconsolidation was the elimination of the consolidated assets and liabilities of hlc ( and its consolidated subsidiary ) from lendingtree 's consolidated balance sheets . prior to the bankruptcy filing , losses from the lendingtree loans business were primarily due to litigation settlements and contingencies and legal fees associated with ongoing legal proceedings . the results of discontinued operations include litigation settlements and contingencies and legal fees associated with ongoing legal proceedings against lendingtree , inc. or lendingtree , llc that arose due to the lendingtree loans business or the hlc bankruptcy filing . 42 see note 21—discontinued operations to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report for more information , including the accounting effect of hlc 's bankruptcy filing on our consolidated financial statements . segment profit replace_table_token_6_th segment profit is our primary segment operating metric . segment profit is calculated as segment revenue less segment selling and marketing expenses attributed to variable costs paid for advertising , direct marketing and related expenses that are directly attributable to the segments ' products . see note 22—segment information in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information on segments and a reconciliation of segment profit to pre-tax income from continuing operations . consumer segment profit decreased $ 106.3 million during 2020 , primarily due to decreases in revenue , partially offset by corresponding decreases in selling and marketing expense due to the impact of economic conditions related to the covid-19 pandemic . while the consumer segment was the most impacted by the covid-19 pandemic , particularly in our credit cards , personal loans and small business loans products , recovery in the segment gained momentum throughout 2020. we are encouraged by increasing credit card issuer budgets , increasing lender demand , and sustained signs of improved consumer health and spending , while continuing to be aware of challenges in consumer demand for unsecured loans . while the timeline of full recovery for the consumer segment remains uncertain , we continue to view the segment with optimism over the medium to long

cash flows from investing activities net cash used in investing activities attributable to continuing operations in 2020 of $ 122.1 million consisted of the purchase of an $ 80.0 million equity interest in stash and capital expenditures of $ 42.1 million primarily related to internally developed software and leasehold improvements for our new principal corporate offices currently under construction . net cash used in investing activities attributable to continuing operations in 2019 of $ 101.1 million consisted primarily of the acquisition of valuepenguin for $ 105.6 million , net of cash acquired , and capital expenditures of $ 20.0 million primarily related to internally developed software . this was partially offset by proceeds of $ 24.1 million on the sale of two office buildings , net of closing expenses . cash flows from financing activities net cash provided by financing activities attributable to continuing operations in 2020 of $ 193.3 million consisted primarily of $ 575.0 million of gross proceeds from the issuance of the 2025 notes , partially offset by $ 233.9 million paid to repurchase a portion of the 2022 notes , a net $ 47.4 million paid for the related convertible note hedge and warrant transactions outlined above , $ 75.0 million of net repayments on our amended revolving credit facility , and $ 16.6 million for the payment of debt issuance costs .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```cash flows from investing activities net cash used in investing activities attributable to continuing operations in 2020 of $ 122.1 million consisted of the purchase of an $ 80.0 million equity interest in stash and capital expenditures of $ 42.1 million primarily related to internally developed software and leasehold improvements for our new principal corporate offices currently under construction . net cash used in investing activities attributable to continuing operations in 2019 of $ 101.1 million consisted primarily of the acquisition of valuepenguin for $ 105.6 million , net of cash acquired , and capital expenditures of $ 20.0 million primarily related to internally developed software . this was partially offset by proceeds of $ 24.1 million on the sale of two office buildings , net of closing expenses . cash flows from financing activities net cash provided by financing activities attributable to continuing operations in 2020 of $ 193.3 million consisted primarily of $ 575.0 million of gross proceeds from the issuance of the 2025 notes , partially offset by $ 233.9 million paid to repurchase a portion of the 2022 notes , a net $ 47.4 million paid for the related convertible note hedge and warrant transactions outlined above , $ 75.0 million of net repayments on our amended revolving credit facility , and $ 16.6 million for the payment of debt issuance costs .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : the lendingtree loans business is presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets , consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income ( loss ) and consolidated cash flows for all periods presented . except for the discussion under the heading `` discontinued operations , `` the analysis within management 's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations reflects our continuing operations . economic conditions during march 2020 , a global pandemic was declared by the world health organization related to the rapidly growing outbreak of covid-19 . the pandemic has significantly impacted the economic conditions in the u.s. , as federal , state and local governments react to the public health crisis , creating significant uncertainties in the u.s. economy . the downstream impact of various lockdown orders and related economic pullback are affecting our business and marketplace participants to varying degrees . we are continuously monitoring the impacts of the current economic conditions related to the covid-19 pandemic and the effect on our business , financial condition and results of operations . of our three reportable segments , the consumer segment has been most impacted as unsecured credit and the flow of capital in certain areas of the market have contracted . the impact to our home and insurance segments was much less substantial and these segments recovered by the end of 2020. while forecasting the timeline of full recovery for the consumer segment remains challenging , the momentum of recovery has increased in each quarter subsequent to the onset of the covid-19 pandemic . we are encouraged by the progress made , and continue to view the consumer segment with optimism over the medium to long term . most of our selling and marketing expenses are variable costs that we adjust dynamically in relation to revenue opportunities to profitably meet demand . thus , as our revenue was negatively impacted during the recession , our marketing expenses generally decreased in line with revenue . 35 segment reporting we have three reportable segments : home , consumer and insurance . recent business acquisitions on february 28 , 2020 , we acquired an equity interest in stash for $ 80.0 million . stash is a consumer investing and banking platform . stash brings together banking , investing , and financial services education into one seamless experience offering a full suite of personal investment accounts , traditional and roth iras , custodial investment accounts , and banking services , including checking accounts and debit cards with a stock-back® rewards program . on january 10 , 2019 , we acquired valuepenguin , a personal finance website that offers consumers objective analysis on a variety of financial topics from insurance to credit cards , for $ 106.2 million . combining valuepenguin 's high-quality content and search engine optimization capability with proprietary technology and insurance carrier network from quotewizard enables us to provide immense value to insurance carriers and agents . this strategic acquisition positions us to achieve further scale in the insurance space as well as the broader financial services industry . on october 31 , 2018 , we acquired quotewizard , one of the largest insurance comparison marketplaces in the growing online insurance advertising market , for $ 299.5 million in cash and potential contingent consideration payments of up to $ 70.2 million through october 2021 , subject to achieving specific targets . quotewizard services clients by driving consumers to insurance companies ' websites , providing leads to agents and carriers , as well as phone transfers of consumers into carrier call centers . this acquisition has established lendingtree as a leading player in the online insurance advertising industry , while continuing our ongoing diversification within the financial services category . on july 23 , 2018 , we acquired student loan hero for $ 62.7 million in cash , of which $ 2.3 million was recognized as severance expense in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income ( loss ) . student loan hero , a personal finance website dedicated to helping student loan borrowers manage their student debt , offers current and former students in-depth financial comparison tools , educational resources , and unbiased , personalized advice . this strategic transaction allows us to scale our student loan business and provide consumers with the tools and resources to better understand their personal finances and make smarter financial decisions . on june 11 , 2018 , we acquired ovation , a leading provider of credit services with a strong customer service reputation , for $ 12.1 million in cash and potential contingent consideration payments of up to $ 8.75 million through june 2020 , subject to achieving specified targets . ovation utilizes a proprietary software application that facilitates the credit repair process and is integrated directly with certain credit reporting agencies while educating consumers on credit improvement via ongoing outreach with ovation case advisors . the proprietary software application offers consumers a simple , streamlined process to identify , dispute , and correct inaccuracies within their credit reports . ovation 's experienced management team , strong credit reporting agency relationships and customized software platform enable us to help more consumers achieve their financial goals through the lendingtree platform . these acquisitions continue our diversification strategy . recent mortgage interest rate trends interest rate and market risks can be substantial in the mortgage lead generation business . short-term fluctuations in mortgage interest rates primarily affect consumer demand for mortgage refinancings , while long-term fluctuations in mortgage interest rates , coupled with the u.s. real estate market , affect consumer demand for new mortgages . consumer demand , in turn , affects lender demand for mortgage leads from third-party sources , as well as our own ability to attract online consumers to our website . story_separator_special_tag 41 during 2019 , we recorded aggregate contingent consideration expense of $ 28.4 million due to adjustments in the estimated fair value of the earnout payments related to our recent acquisitions . for 2019 , the contingent consideration expense for the quotewizard and snapcap acquisitions were $ 27.1 million and $ 2.2 million , respectively . this was partially offset by a contingent consideration gain for the depositaccounts acquisition of $ 1.0 million . interest expense interest expense increased in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the issuance of $ 575.0 million of our 2025 notes as well as the repurchase of a portion of our existing 2022 notes in july 2020. in 2020 , interest expense of $ 11.5 million was recognized on the newly-issued 2025 notes . further , a loss on debt extinguishment of $ 7.8 million was recognized within interest expense upon the partial repurchase of the 2022 notes . these increases to interest expense were partially offset by lower interest expense on the 2022 notes subsequent to the repurchase of $ 130.3 million principal amount of the 2022 notes . see note 15—debt for additional information on the issuance of the 2025 notes and the partial repurchase of the 2022 notes . income tax benefit replace_table_token_5_th for 2020 , the effective tax rate varied from the federal statutory rate of 21 % in part due to the benefit derived from excess tax deductions from the vesting of restricted stock and exercise of stock options of $ 2.5 million , including state taxes . the effective tax rate for 2020 was also impacted by a tax benefit of $ 6.1 million for the impact of the cares act , as described below . on march 27 , 2020 , president trump signed into law the cares act . this legislation is an economic relief package in response to the public health and economic impacts of covid-19 and includes various provisions that impact us , including , but not limited to , modifications for net operating losses , accelerated timeframe for refunds associated with prior minimum taxes and modifications of the limitation on business interest . we revalued deferred tax assets related to net operating losses in light of the changes in the cares act and recorded a net tax benefit of $ 6.1 million during 2020. these deferred tax assets are being revalued , as they have been carried back to 2016 and 2017 , which are tax periods prior to the tcja when the federal statutory tax rate was 35 % versus the 21 % federal statutory tax rate in effect after the enactment of the tcja . for 2019 , the effective tax rate varied from the federal statutory rate of 21 % primarily due to the benefit derived from excess tax deductions from the vesting of restricted stock and exercise of stock options of $ 17.1 million , including state taxes and the benefit of an expected 2019 federal research and development tax credit of $ 3.5 million , offset by expense due to incremental valuation allowance on state net operating losses of $ 3.9 million , primarily due to state legislative changes . discontinued operations the results of discontinued operations include the results of the lendingtree loans business formerly operated by our wholly-owned subsidiary , hlc . the sale of substantially all of the assets of hlc , including the lendingtree loans business , was completed on june 6 , 2012. hlc filed a petition under chapter 11 of the united states bankruptcy code on july 21 , 2019 , which was converted to chapter 7 of the united states bankruptcy code on september 16 , 2019. as a result of the voluntary bankruptcy petition , as of the initial july 21 , 2019 bankruptcy petition filing date , hlc and its consolidated subsidiary were deconsolidated from lendingtree 's consolidated financial statements . the effect of such deconsolidation was the elimination of the consolidated assets and liabilities of hlc ( and its consolidated subsidiary ) from lendingtree 's consolidated balance sheets . prior to the bankruptcy filing , losses from the lendingtree loans business were primarily due to litigation settlements and contingencies and legal fees associated with ongoing legal proceedings . the results of discontinued operations include litigation settlements and contingencies and legal fees associated with ongoing legal proceedings against lendingtree , inc. or lendingtree , llc that arose due to the lendingtree loans business or the hlc bankruptcy filing . 42 see note 21—discontinued operations to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report for more information , including the accounting effect of hlc 's bankruptcy filing on our consolidated financial statements . segment profit replace_table_token_6_th segment profit is our primary segment operating metric . segment profit is calculated as segment revenue less segment selling and marketing expenses attributed to variable costs paid for advertising , direct marketing and related expenses that are directly attributable to the segments ' products . see note 22—segment information in the notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information on segments and a reconciliation of segment profit to pre-tax income from continuing operations . consumer segment profit decreased $ 106.3 million during 2020 , primarily due to decreases in revenue , partially offset by corresponding decreases in selling and marketing expense due to the impact of economic conditions related to the covid-19 pandemic . while the consumer segment was the most impacted by the covid-19 pandemic , particularly in our credit cards , personal loans and small business loans products , recovery in the segment gained momentum throughout 2020. we are encouraged by increasing credit card issuer budgets , increasing lender demand , and sustained signs of improved consumer health and spending , while continuing to be aware of challenges in consumer demand for unsecured loans . while the timeline of full recovery for the consumer segment remains uncertain , we continue to view the segment with optimism over the medium to long

