The term “lost decade” originally referred to the 1990s Japanese economy that experienced flat growth rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 10,000 in March 1999 and 10,000 again in October 2009. From October 2009-January 2010, many newspaper and blog articles called the 2000s a “lost decade” of stock investing in the United States.
   
 
Investopedia
What Does Lost Decade Mean?
A period in Japanese history in which economic growth was virtually flat due to the bursting of an asset bubble. “The Lost Decade” is the term coined to describe the period from 1991-2001, in which the Japanese economy grew extremely slowly despite extremely low interest rates.
     
USA Today   
Here we are again: Dow 10,000
Updated 10/16/2009 12:45 PM
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There will be a war between the things-are-getting-better camp and bears who say the recovery will be too weak for the gains to last and who talk about it being a lost decade for investors.

“There will be a lot of people who will say, ‘This is a lot better than Dow 6000’ and they’ll rejoice in that,” says John Prestbo, editor of Dow Jones Indexes. “There will also be people that say, ‘We have not gone anywhere in 10 years. I’m giving up.’ “
     
Orange County Financial Planner Robert J. Krakower
The Lost Decade of Stock Investing
Advisers sold us a bill of goods about the lasting value of real estate and stocks
By DAVID WEIDNER OCTOBER 15, 2009, 1:42 P.M. ET
Here we are again: the same place we were March 1999, December 2003 and various points in between. We stand, for the first time in a long time, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising above 10000 – 10015.86 at Wednesday’s close to be exact — and we are left wondering the same questions we did years ago: is it just a temporary rush higher or a new floor for the great heights to come?
 
The Motley Fool
Is Another Lost Decade Coming for Stocks?
By Dan Caplinger
November 6, 2009
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By now, you’ve probably heard about the lost decade for the stock market. Over the past 10 years, the S&P 500 has fallen more than 300 points or 2.5% annually. Even taking dividends into account, index-fund investors have lost money in S&P funds.

Financial Express   
Taking stock of the ‘lost decade’
Sunil Kewalramani
Posted: Tuesday, Dec 29, 2009 at 2140 hrs IST
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Since 1900, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined in price (not total returns) in just two decades—the 1930s and the 2000s. The Dow is currently down 9.2% since the end of 1999. In the 1930s, the index fell 39.5%. The best decade was the 1990s (known as the ‘Roaring 1990s’) when the index rose 317.6%.

In both the 1980s and the 1990s, the broad S&P 500-stock index provided a total return (which includes dividends) of more than 400%. The total return for the S&P 500 since New Year 2000 has been negative 10.8%.
   
Playing the Devil’s Advocate
The Lost Decade (1999-2009)
January 2, 2010
It has become fashionable for MSM to refer to the last ten years as a lost decade, a concept that they stole from the blogosphere where this term has been established since 2005-2006. In any case, here are a few MSM links..
 
Aughts were a lost decade for U.S. economy, workers. (Washington Post—ed.)
 
Zero Hedge
Surviving Another “Lost Decade” in Stocks
Submitted by Vitaliy Katsenelson on 12/14/2010 18:57 -0400
Stocks were drifting sideways for a second-straight day Wednesday, whichis no big deal considering the sharp rally since late August.

But it will be a big deal if the market suffers another lost decade, as Vitaliy Katsenelson of Investment Management Associates predicts.
 
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Investor
Friday, April 8, 2011
The Lost Decade?
Frequently a phrase arises that captures a certain sentiment, and it proliferates to the point where it is repeated without thought. “The lost decade,” describing the 10 years ended 12/31/2009 is, IMHO, such a phrase.  Everyone knows that investors got beat up over this 10-year period and their investments lost ground. Did they really?
 
Investopedia
6 Ways To Improve Your Portfolio Returns Today
By Steven Merkel
Posted: Jul 15, 2011
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“The Lost Decade” has become a common nickname for the stock market period between 2000 through 2010 as the S&P 500 Index returned a measly average annual return of 0.40% for the period.
 
Business Insider
The Lost Decade For The S&P 500
Doug Short, Advisor Perspectives | Jul. 25, 2011, 5:37 AM
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We’re now over eleven years beyond the S&P 500 2000 high. This little charting exercise gives credence to the frequent reference to a “lost decade” for investors. In nominal terms, the index is a few percent above where it was at the 2000 peak, but in real terms, it’s still pretty far under water.
 
Crossing Wall Street
The Lost Decade
Posted by Eddy on August 1st, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Here’s a look at the total return of the S&P 500 adjusted for inflation. We’re still below the peaks from 2000 and 2007. In fact, we’re less than 5% higher than where we were 13 years ago.